Transfer Updates, David Weir Out, and Other Brighton News (Extended News Roundup)
Brighton returned from the international break with a 2-1 loss to Bournemouth on Saturday. I hope the return of this newsletter goes a bit better. There’s a lot to cover, so I won’t waste any time. Let’s look at all the Brighton news from the last three weeks or so.
Transfer News
Incoming Transfers
Michelle Agyemang: England star rejoins Brighton Women on loan
Brighton Women have secured Michelle Agyemang on loan from Arsenal for another season. The 19-year-old scored five goals in 22 appearances for the Seagulls last season and was a key player for Sarina Wiegman’s Euros-winning England side in the summer.
Fuka Tsunoda: Brighton Women sign Urawa Red Diamonds midfielder
Exciting Japanese prospect Fuka Tsunoda has joined Brighton Women from Urawa Red Diamonds for an undisclosed fee. The 20-year-old midfielder has represented Japan at the U16, U19, and U20 levels, and already has two league titles to her name.
Tsunoda is the third Japanese player on Brighton Women’s squad. She joins defender Moeka Minami and star striker Kiko Seike—both of whom also played for Urawa Red Diamonds.
Joe Gomez: Seagulls sounded out deadline-day move
While negotiating Igor Julio’s move out of the club, Brighton reportedly opened talks with Liverpool about Joe Gomez. According to multiple sources (The Athletic, Fabrizio Romano, etc.), the center-back was “close” to joining Brighton. However, the club could not meet Gomez's salary demands.
Relja Obric: Atalanta reject Brighton bid for promising center-back
According to Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), Brighton “made a significant offer” to sign Atalanta center-back Relja Obric. The Bergamo-based club rejected the offer, as they viewed him as untouchable. The report does not say whether Brighton are still interested or if they plan to make another offer.
Kobbie Mainoo: Albion linked to Man Utd wonderkid
Manchester United wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo is reportedly unhappy with his role at the club and wants out this summer. According to transfer insider Graeme Bailey, Brighton are one of many clubs interested in the midfielder.
Football Transfers claims that the Seagulls have actually opened talks regarding the Englishman.
Obviously the transfer didn’t go through, but this could be one to watch in the future, especially in the January window if Mainoo is still unhappy with his playing time ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
Marc Bernal: Seagulls keeping tabs on Barcelona prospect
Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo (via Sport Witness) has reported that Brighton, Everton, and Chelsea have scouted Barcelona’s Marc Bernal and that some clubs even approached the player. It’s unclear whether the Albion opened talks, but the club is reportedly still interested in the defensive midfielder.
Outgoing Transfers
Julio Enciso: La Joya joins Strasbourg and Chelsea’s “BlueCo” project
After weeks of speculation and a failed medical, Julio Enciso has officially joined Strasbourg for a reported fee of somewhere between £13.8m and £17.3m. While La Joya will be playing in Ligue 1 next season alongside Valentin Barco, it’s been widely reported as the 21-year-old having joined Chelsea through its parent company BlueCo.
Enciso had been in Paraguay throughout the summer recovering from a knee injury. The attacker joined Brighton from Libertad in 2022 for £9.5m. He made 57 appearances for Brighton during his three seasons at the club.
Paraguayan journalist Julio Samaniego was the first to report Chelsea’s interest, while L'Équipe and David Ornstein first revealed the specific plan for Enciso to join Strasbourg.
Tariq Lamptey: Fiorentina sign Ghanaian defender
Defender Tariq Lamptey has joined Fiorentina for a reported £6m fee. Numerous Italian outlets reported this story from the outset, but Alfredo Pedullà first broke the story. Lamptey was in Florence during Brighton’s match against Manchester City. The deal was officially announced the following day, on deadline day.
Lamptey had been at Brighton since January 2020, when he joined from Chelsea for less than £1m. Injuries plagued much of his five-and-a-half years at the club, but he was a solid role player when healthy.
Facundo Buonanotte: Former wonderkid joins Chelsea on loan
Leading into deadline day, Beren Cross reported that Facundo Buonanotte was set to join Leeds on loan for the 2025-26 season. A few days later, Fabrizio Romano revealed that the negotiations with Leeds had fallen through and that the Argentine would instead join Chelsea on loan. This was confirmed on deadline day.
Buonanotte’s loan to Chelsea does not include a buy option. However, Chelsea have reportedly paid to secure an option that would allow them to match any bid Brighton receive for Buonanotte.
He had also been linked to Dortmund and Lyon, but Brighton preferred to keep him in England so he could become a homegrown player.
Matt O’Riley: Joins Marseille on loan after denying interest in move away from Brighton
After rubbishing rumors that he was unhappy at the club, Matt O’Riley has joined Marseille on a season-long loan. The midfielder was close to a move to Juventus, having agreed to personal terms back in June. However, that deal fell apart for unknown reasons. O’Riley’s loan to Marseille doesn’t include a buy option.
Igor Julio: Defender joins West Ham on loan
Brazilian defender Igor Julio has joined West Ham on a season-long loan without a buy option. The 27-year-old was close to joining Crystal Palace on deadline day, but he did not receive enough guarantees about game time.
Jeremy Sarmiento: Ecuadorian winger joins Cremonese on loan
Ecuador international Jeremy Sarmiento is headed out on loan again. The 23-year-old has joined Cremonese in Serie A on a season-long loan. This is his fourth consecutive season away from Brighton since breaking into the first team in 2021.
Sarmiento’s loan deal does not contain a buy option. His current Brighton contract expires in June 2027, with a club option to extend through 2028.
Abdallah Sima: Striker signs for RC Lens
Senegalese striker Abdallah Sima has completed a permanent transfer to Ligue 1 side RC Lens. Most reports agree that the deal is worth around €4.5m (£3.9m). Sima leaves Brighton after failing to make a single first-team appearance for the club. He joined the Albion from Slavia Prague in 2021 for a reported £6m fee.
Brajan Gruda: Stuttgart explored loan move before deadline day
Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg reported that Stuttgart registered interest in signing Brajan Gruda on loan before the end of the transfer window. Additional reporting from Bild and other outlets claimed that Gruda was open to the move because he was dissatisfied with his game time at Brighton.
Andrew Moran: Irish midfielder joins LAFC on loan
Ireland international Andrew Moran has been loaned to LAFC on a short-term deal that will see him return to Brighton in January. This move marks his third move away from the club in three seasons. The 21-year-old has yet to make an appearance for LAFC, but he will likely become a key player for the MLS club as they close out the season and head into the playoffs.
Danny Welbeck: Manchester United approach veteran striker
In his piece for The Athletic breaking down Manchester United’s transfer window, Laurie Whitwell revealed that the Red Devils “explored conditions for bringing Danny Welbeck back” to the club this summer. Reportedly, the 34-year-old striker was wanted by Erik ten Hag last year.
Football Transfers claims that Man Utd are still targeting Welbeck and that he has agreed to personal terms ahead of a possible January move.
Adrian Mazilu: Romanian prospect returns to Liga I with Dinamo București
Brighton U23 winger Adrian Mazilu has been sold to Dinamo București for a reported fee between €450k-€600k. The 20-year-old joined Brighton from the Romanian Liga I in 2024 in a €3m move from his boyhood club Farul Constanța. However, injuries interrupted his development and he never broke into the first team.
Charlie Penman, Jacob Slater: U21 prospects secure lower-league loans
U21 center-back Charlie Penman (19) has joined National League side Aldershot Town on loan, while full-back Jacob Slater (20) has been sent to Harrogate Town in League Two. These are the first loans away from Brighton for both players.
Other News & Media
Brighton announced the shock departure of technical director David Weir on Friday morning. The Scotsman first joined the club as pathway development manager in 2018. He then progressed up the ranks to assistant technical director and finally to head technical director in May 2022 in the wake of Dan Ashworth’s move to Newcastle.
According to Andy Naylor, Weir was let go as a part of the club’s “2030 vision” to “raise the bar” over the next five years. An internal review decided that Weir was probably not the right man to lead the club to their desired 2030 destination.
Former Arsenal assistant technical director Jason Ayto is set to join the club as Weir’s replacement. Most reports agree that the deal is done and should be announced shortly.
Albion draw Barnsley in Carabao Cup Third Round
After beating Oxford United 6-0 in the Carabao Cup Second Round, Brighton have been drawn against Barnsley for the Third Round. Barnsley will host the Seagulls at their Oakwell ground on September 23 at 7:45pm GMT+1 (2:45pm ET).
Maisie Symonds named Brighton Women captain
Dario Vidosic has named Maisie Symonds as Brighton Women captain for the 2025-26 season. Symonds, 22, joined Brighton from Chelsea’s academy in 2021 and is the longest-tenured player at the club. She recently received her first call-up to the England national team in March.
Symonds replaces Vicky Losada, who left the club at the end of her contract in the summer to join WSL 2 club Bristol City.
Grace McEwen signs first professional contract
Brighton Women defender Grace McEwen has signed her first professional contract. The 18-year-old came through Brighton’s academy, and most recently played for WSL 2 side Portsmouth on loan.
Paul Barber secures 1.5% stake in Brighton
Brighton chief executive Paul Barber has purchased a 1.5% stake in Brighton. Barber has been at Brighton since 2012, and is under contract through 2030. He is now the second-largest shareholder behind owner-chairman Tony Bloom.
“Paul has been exceptional in his role as deputy chairman and chief executive, and we are thrilled that he has further strengthened his commitment to the club with this investment,” Bloom said of Barber’s acquisition.
Brighton Women bolster coaching staff
As Brighton Women prepared for the start of the 2025-26 WSL season, the club made two additions to Dario Vidosic’s backroom staff. Arthur Brammer and Ben Morella have joined the club as coaches.
Brammer has previously worked within Brighton’s academy, while Morella previously worked with Vidosic at Melbourne City as a goalkeeping coach.
Tony Bloom considered investment in Greek second-tier side PAS Giannina
England365 and We Are Brighton reporter Dimitris Manakos revealed this week that Brighton owner-chairman Tony Bloom held talks to invest in Greek second-tier side PAS Giannina this summer. The negotiations reportedly did not last long, but it is a sign that Bloom is looking to acquire more clubs after paying £9m for a 29% stake in Scottish club Hearts earlier this year.
Interviews
Jan Paul van Hecke revealed to Dutch media during the international break that there were some clubs interested in him before deadline day, “but it quickly became clear that a transfer this summer wouldn't happen” (per Voetbalzone).
Danny Welbeck was profiled by The Athletic, where he spoke about his career, his time at Brighton, and whether he’s thought about retiring.
Maxim De Cuyper told Le Soir about his initial struggles at Brighton, the intensity of training, and the family atmosphere on the South Coast.
Brighton Women goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie spoke with BBC Sport about winning the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, her Ballon d'Or award nomination, and moving to Brighton this summer.
Diego Coppola discussed his move to Brighton and how “overjoyed” he felt signing for a PL club with La Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness).
Ferdi Kadioglu spoke to BBC Radio Sussex about returning from injury, his life at Brighton so far, and his favorite position on the pitch.
Fabian Hurzeler reflected on his first year at Brighton and what it’s like being the youngest Premier League manager in history in an interview with Sky Sports.
Paul Barber spoke to The Athletic about his Lost Boys Taskforce charity, which addresses issues plaguing teens and young men in Britain.
Alexis Mac Allister penned a piece in The Players’ Tribune detailing his early struggles at Brighton, how his mom “saved him,” his World Cup win, and his transfer to Liverpool.
In an interview with The Standard, Joao Pedro discussed life at Chelsea, why he joined the Blues, and how life at Stamford Bridge compares to being the “main guy at Brighton.”