Three transfers who could transform Brighton in 2025/26

With the Premier League season concluding, the summer transfer window has already begun (reports of Joao Pedro and Kaoru Mitoma already having interest from clubs bigger than us) and Tommy Watson officially joining the club from Sunderland.

It feels like a great time to perhaps introduce you to some players you may not have heard of and/or aren’t particularly knowledgeable about. I will list three players in areas of need, although I acknowledge that we have more than just three areas of need. 

Before I get started, I feel the need to put in some disclaimers to set the right tone and expectations for this brief piece – this is purely subjective on the player’s choice. It does not necessarily mean Brighton will sign them, or even be interested in them, and any crossover would be purely coincidental.

Furthermore, most of the names will be from Ligue 1, as it is the league I watch the most. Also, due to the economic situation of most clubs in French football, it represents a lot of great market opportunities that clubs will capitalise on this summer. 

Let’s get started with a need that has been prominent for a few years now…

CB: Nathan Zeze (19, Nantes)

Since the departure of Levi Colwill, Brighton have been unable to address the long-term solution to the left-sided centre back.

Igor is a fine backup option, and Eiran Cashin respectfully is not a Premier League standard player worthy of neglecting arguably the biggest need in the squad outside of LW, should Mitoma leave. 

Nathan Zeze is a player I have been raving about for a long time, and although his season was hampered by injury, he’s gone from strength to strength in the Nantes backline, becoming a key part of their season. 

The French defender excels at ground defending: tackling opponents, making interceptions, and winning ground duels. His long legs allow him to perform these actions as well as an ever-improving ability to read the game and anticipate when the appropriate time is to jump from the defensive line and when it is necessary to hold their shape instead.

This part of his game will continue to grow with more games under his belt, but he’s shown remarkable improvement since his debut. On the other hand, aerially, he isn’t there yet, mainly due to a lack of upper-body strength relative to the top levels of the game.

When he is uncontested, he’s shown a good amount of evidence of heading the ball well however, he is unable to overpower opponents in a physical manner yet, which is to be expected from a 19-year-old centre back for what it’s worth.

If/when he develops this upper body strength, then it’ll unlock even more tools for the teenager to dispossess attackers and break up opponents’ attacks. 

While defending should be paramount for a defender (!), it’s worth talking about the other areas of his game too. If you have a glance at his FBRef profile, you’ll only see red bars for volume of passing and other possession stats.

A fair assumption would be that he’s poor in possession and couldn’t play in a team that historically has prided itself upon having a lot of the ball during games.

Ultimately, though, this is a wrong assumption, and why context is key behind stats. Nantes typically play in a back 5 and in a low block under (now departed) manager Antoine Kombouare with their main form of build-up being to hit the ball into the channels or up the pitch. 

Zeze’s passing is still a work in progress, but there have been multiple moments where he’s delivered a perfect diagonal or a long ball in general, which makes me sit up and take notice. He’s also shown that he can play progressively through the lines and routinely gets the weight of the pass spot on, making his teammates’ jobs easier in the next action.

Furthermore, he is accurate in his short-medium distance passes and can direct the ball to his teammates’ preferred foot, or the side which is optimal depending on the situation.

Overall, I’m a huge fan of Nathan Zeze. His upside is huge, especially for a reported fee which would be more than realistic for a club like Brighton to pay.

That being said, the physical problems mentioned earlier and the fact that he’s only played in a low or mid block could cause a period of adaptation if he were to join, which has to be taken into account.

However, between the current options available at the club, I believe he could be afforded the time needed to get up to speed with the demands of the Premier League (and maybe Europe).

LB: Adrien Truffert (23, Rennes)

While he is too good to be purely a backup for Pervis Estupinan, Adrien Truffert would help ease the huge burden at left back due to the lack of alternatives outside the Ecuador international, barring awkward fits of centre backs playing there.

Furthermore, due to his age and experience (150 appearances in Ligue 1), it provides the club with a succession plan in that area should Estupinan be sold at any point – something which is probably needed given Valentin Barco’s loan has an obligation to buy at Strasbourg.

Truffert is a front-footed, attacking, aggressive left-back capable of playing in a back 4 and a back 5.

I won’t go into anywhere near as much detail as I did with Zeze to prevent this article from being 3000 words long, but Truffert has a nice physical profile, which complements his play style, mentioned at the start of the paragraph.

In addition, he has a good physical profile, positioning him to be effective in both attack and defence.

Going forward, he has a nice inswinging cross, supported by his high technical levels, but he also can make under-lapping runs to open up space for him to cut the ball back should a teammate find him there. 

Rennes are selling their RWB – Lorenz Assignon to Stuttgart for a reported fee of €15m, which may complicate matters for any club targeting Truffert. If the value is there, then he would be a great signing which helps us today and tomorrow with future-proofing a key position.

That being said, a report from L’Equipe translated via GFFN states they are resigned to losing the 23-year-old this summer, with his contract ending next summer.

Unfortunately, Bournemouth are already linked. 

LW: Malick Fofana (20, Lyon)

How do we replace Kaoru Mitoma?

The simple answer, we cannot replace him in pure Pep Guardiola fashion. However, what we might be able to do (I’m aware this is a long shot) is take advantage of Lyon’s financial woes and attract one of the best LWs on the market with a very clear spot to be playing regularly in the Premier League.

However, rather typically, Liverpool are also linked with the 20-year-old sensation.  

Malick Fofana is an incredible talent.

Usually, it is very apparent with players on which foot they prefer using however, this is not the case with Malick, his ability to use both of his feet comfortably allows him to be unpredictable for opposing defences, not allowing them to push the winger to his weaker foot for a more advantageous defensive situation.

Furthermore, it also enables Fofana to play on both sides of the pitch – positional versatility is something Brighton values highly, if past recruitment is to be looked upon. 

Physically, the Lyon winger is top. He can get past opposing full-backs with bursts of acceleration, which is hard to keep up with. On the other hand, he is effective at changing his speed to control and manipulate situations (a little bit like Kaoru).

His body control, feints to trick the opposition and impeccable footwork can deceive defenders about his intentions, allowing him to take full advantage of the space afforded to him. He is another one who would need to get stronger should he move to the Premier League.

He can struggle to absorb contact at times, knocking him off balance, which is probably the best way to contain him in a game.   

Off the ball, his movement is also good in an attacking sense, with a few of his goals coming as a result of him arriving at the back post for simple tap-ins. However, he has work to do on improving on the defensive side of the ball.

Technically, he is also excellent. His dribbling, which I talked about earlier, is a joy to watch. He also crosses the ball quite well, allowing him to go inside and outside, adding to the difficulty of defending him. He’s also capable of scoring with both feet (he did this vs Stade Bucharest in the Europa League). However, I think he strikes the ball better with his right foot and finishes better with his left. I will only keep this brief, though, as I feel my hopes of him wearing a Brighton shirt next season rising with every sentence, although he will probably go to a team higher up the footballing food chain than us. We can hope, though. 

In conclusion, these are just three players I like and would (should) fit Brighton’s budget.

They’re all young enough to fit the model however, the lack of European football may hinder us slightly with the likes of Fofana.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this, and I look forward to writing some more pieces over the summer for TalkSeagulls.