Tommy Watson signed, Baleba & Pedro price tags revealed & other Brighton news from the last 7 days (Brighton news roundup Mar. 30 - Apr. 5)
Brighton have just eight games left, and a spot in next year’s Champions League is still up for grabs. Albion’s final push starts today with a match against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. Before this big game, let’s get caught up on all the Brighton news from the last seven days.
Transfer News
Incoming Transfers
Tommy Watson - Seagulls confirm signing of Sunderland winger
Brighton have signed Sunderland winger Tommy Watson for a reported £10m. The 18-year-old left winger has made 14 league appearances for the Black Cats this season. The Seagulls attempted to sign Watson in January, but negotiations died on deadline day when Sunderland asked for Simon Adingra on loan as part of the deal.
Mio Backhaus - Werder Bremen goalkeeper linked
Sky Sports has once again linked Brighton to Werder Bremen goalkeeper Mio Backhaus. In December, Sky reported that the Albion were keeping tabs on the 20-year-old as a potential long-term replacement for Bart Verbruggen.
Now, Florian Plettenberg says that Brighton inquired about the goalkeeper last summer. It’s unclear if the club is still interested in Backhaus. However, the German reporter says the player is ready to leave Bremen to become a number-one goalkeeper somewhere else.
Terry Yegbe - Albion in the hunt for Ghanaian defender
Reports from Ghana have linked IF Elfsborg defender Terry Yegbe to Brighton. However, a new report from Swedish outlet Fotboll Direkt claims that the Albion are not the only club tracking the 24-year-old. It also says that the Seagulls are not even the most likely club to sign him right now. Journalist Ola Gustavsson says that Crystal Palace, Fulham, Sheffield United, Union Berlin, and Freiburg are also interested.
The new story also claims that it will take around £5.5m to sign Yegbe, more than the £4.5m that was first reported in the rumor from Ghana. Yegbe himself declined to comment on the rumors when questioned by Swedish media earlier this week.
Kiliann Sildillia - Brighton “checked on” Freiburg right back
TBR Football reports that French defender Kiliann Sildillia is ready to leave SC Freiburg this summer. Both Manchester City and Liverpool are interested in the 22-year-old. However, Aston Villa, Brighton, and Chelsea have also been watching the right back. His contract expires in June 2026.
Evan Ndicka - Seagulls watching in-demand Roma defender
Another TBR Football report from this week claims that Roma defender Evan Ndicka is keen on making a move to the Premier League this summer. Brighton are one of four English clubs keeping tabs on the 25-year-old Ivorian, along with Tottenham, West Ham, and Bournemouth.
Andrija Maksimović - Leipzig to beat Brighton in race for Red Star wonderkid
Serbian outlet Mozzart Sport has reported that RB Leipzig are close to signing Red Star Belgrade teenager Andrija Maksimović for €13m. However, the report also claims that a number of other clubs, including Brighton, are still monitoring his situation.
Red Star are hoping to receive another bid close to their €20m asking price from another club. If nothing comes, they are ready to go forward with Leipzig. Maksimović’s future will likely be decided before the end of the month.
Outgoing Transfers
Joao Pedro & Carlos Baleba - Report claims £100m price tag for star duo
Alex Crook claims that Brighton have slapped a £100m asking price tag on both Carlos Baleba and Joao Pedro ahead of this summer’s transfer window. The talkSPORT reporter also repeated other rumors linking Pedro to Liverpool and Baleba to big clubs like Chelsea.
Given Brighton’s policy of not naming asking prices, it’s hard to know what to make of this report.
Julio Enciso - Flamengo linked, Porto rumor nixed
Reports from Brazil have linked Julio Enciso to Serie A club Flamengo. The 2022 Copa Libertadores champions are said to have reached out to La Joya in January, but he was unwilling to go back to South America at that time.
Brazilian journalist Gabriel Reis claims that Flamengo are still interested, but Porto are in “advanced talks” with Brighton about a loan deal for Enciso next year. However, Porto-based newspaper O Jogo (via Sport Witness) has denied this report.
Kaoru Mitoma - Al-Nassr keeping tabs ahead of summer spending spree
After having multiple bids rejected in January, Al-Nassr is reportedly ready to try to sign Kaoru Mitoma again this summer. GIVEMESPORT reports that the Japanese winger is one of three players on the Saudi club’s shortlist along with Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo and West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus.
The report reiterated past rumors that Brighton are not willing to sell Mitoma and that the player is not interested in going to Saudi Arabia. However, Al-Nassr intend to keep “monitoring his situation.”
Other News & Media
Fabian Hurzeler linked to RB Leipzig
Florian Plettenberg revealed on Friday that Fabian Hurzeler was on the list of candidates RB Leipzig were looking at to replace Marco Rose. However, Hurzeler “wants to stay at Brighton,” and is no longer under consideration.
Estupinan, van Hecke nominated for PFA Player of the Month award
Pervis Estupinan and Jan Paul van Hecke have been nominated for the PFA Player of the Month award for March along with Nottingham Forest’s Anthony Elanga and Milenkovic, Man Utd’s Bruno Fernandes, and Wolves’ Jean-Ricner Bellegarde. You can vote for Pervis and JP here.
Roberto De Zerbi facing player revolt at Marseille
Former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi has reportedly lost the dressing room at his new club Marseille after ordering his players to spend the night at the training ground on Sunday. He then refused to attend training with his players on Monday. His players, feeling abandoned by their boss, downed tools and refused to train.
On Tuesday, De Zerbi said in French at a press conference “I'm very happy to be the coach of Marseille, because I love controversy.”
Injury News
Quotes from Fabian Hurzeler unless otherwise noted.
Joel Veltman (foot) “won’t be in the squad” against Palace.
Georginio Rutter (ankle) & Adam Webster (hamstring) “don’t look great.” It’s possible that they are out for the season.
Igor Julio (hamstring) returned to training, but it’s unclear whether he will play again this season.
Tariq Lamptey (ankle), Jason Steele (shoulder), Ferdi Kadioglu (toe), and James Milner (hamstring) remain out. All other players are presumed fit.
Interviews
Julio Enciso spoke about his appreciation for Paraguay manager Gustavo Alfaro and about his struggles this season with Versus Radio.
Malick Yalcouye was featured in a Sky Sport Austria profile, where he spoke about his rapid rise and his time at Sturm Graz this season.
Eiran Cashin reflected on his debut against Aston Villa, his mistakes, and the step up to the Premier League in an interview on the club website.
Maisie Symonds made an appearance on The Official Brighton and Hove Albion Podcast to discuss her first call up to the England squad and her career at Brighton so far. She was profiled in an interview with the club.
Jakub Moder discussed his career-altering injury and decision to leave Brighton for Feyenoord with Dutch outlet 1908.nl.