Verbruggen rumors ramp up, Brighton Women win more awards & other Brighton news from the last 7 days (Brighton news roundup Oct. 27 - Nov. 2)
The Seagulls head to Anfield today for a rematch against Liverpool after the club’s 3-2 loss in the Carabao Cup. Brighton Women also play this weekend, taking on Leicester City on Sunday. Before these big matches, let’s look at all the news from the last seven days.
Transfer News
Incoming Transfers
Oliver Sørensen - Brighton interested in FC Midtjylland star
Leading EFL reporter Alan Nixon (via Football League World) has reported that Brighton, Sheffield United, and Brentford are interested in FC Midtjylland midfielder Oliver Sørensen.
According to Nixon, Chris Wilder’s side are leading the race for Sørensen’s signature, but the Seagulls and Bees could leapfrog the Blades if they start to seriously pursue the Dane. Nixon’s report claims Midtjylland could sell the 22-year-old for just £5 million.
Oliver Boscagli - Transfer target reveals January move is not possible
PSV Eindhoven center back Oliver Boscagli was one of Brighton’s biggest transfer targets last summer. The Frenchman was reportedly very angry at not being sold to the Seagulls. Speaking to Dutch outlet AD (via Sport Witness), Boscagli revealed that he is likely to leave PSV this summer but not before then.
“Yes, that is certainly possible (leaving PSV in the summer)", he said. When asked about leaving in January, Boscagli said “That’s not in the plan, unless something really crazy happens.”
Considering that the club tracked Joel Veltman for years before signing him, it’s likely that Boscagli is still on Brighton’s radar.
Jacopo Fazzini - Albion tracking Empoli winger
French outlet Homme Du Match claims Ligue 1 side OGC Nice are interested in Empoli attacker Jacopo Fazzini. Signing the 21-year will be tough though, as Brighton are also interested.
Fazzini played 31 matches for Empoli last season and is a regular for Italy’s U21 national team. Homme Du Match speculates it could cost just €6m (£5m) to sign Fazzini.
Taha Ali - Seagulls monitoring “unknown” star
According to Fichajes, Brighton are keeping track of Malmo forward Taha Ali. They go on to say that the Seagulls could be set to sign him this January. Ali, 26, had 13 goals contributions for Malmo in 2023. He scored just one goal for Di blåe last season.
Outgoing Transfers
Bart Verbruggen - Barcelona set sights on Seagulls star
After being linked to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich earlier this season, Diario Sport claim that Barcelona are also tracking Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. The Spanish newspaper claims Verbruggen is a potential long-term replacement for Marc-André Ter Stegen.
However, the report also says that Barcelona will not have much money to spend in the near future, so it’s unclear whether they actually can afford to sign Verbruggen.
Danny Welbeck - Manchester United discussed bringing striker back last summer
In a colossal piece analyzing what went wrong for Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, The Athletic revealed that the Dutch manager wanted to sign Danny Welbeck last summer. The report says Ten Hag felt the striker would’ve been “an excellent addition” to his Red Devils side.
Man Utd higher-ups gave Ten Hag’s suggestion serious consideration, but never made an official offer for Welbeck. It’s unlikely Man Utd or any other club will sign Welbeck after he signed a new contract with Brighton last May.
Other News
Dario Vidosic wins October Manager of the Month award
After leading Brighton Women to an undefeated start to their season, Seagulls boss Dario Vidosic has won the WSL Manager of the Month award for October.
The Albion are currently fourth in the table and play Leicester City on Sunday at 2pm GMT (9am EST). You can watch the match for free on the WSL’s YouTube channel here.
Kiko Seike wins AFC Women’s Player of the Year award
Brighton Women forward Kiko Seike has won the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Women’s Player of the Year award for 2023. Before joining Brighton, she played a key role in the Urawa Reds securing their second straight league title in 2023.
Seike has hit the ground running at Brighton. In September, she scored a hat trick in her debut against Everton and became the first ever Brighton player to win a WSL Player of the Month award.
Hurzeler, Welbeck nominated for October awards
Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has been nominated for the Premier League’s Manager of the Month award for the second straight month. Danny Welbeck has also been nominated for an award. The striker in on the PL’s shortlist for its October Player of the Month award.
You can vote for Fabian here and for Danny here.
Caylan Vickers nominated for Premier League 2 Player of the Month award
A Brighton player has also been nominated for the Premier League 2 Player of the Month for October. Forward Caylan Vickers is on the PL2 shortlist after scoring three goals and racking up two assists in two matches last month.
All Vickers’ goal contributions came in Brighton U21’s 10-0 demolition of Crystal Palace’s U21 team last month. Vote for Caylan here.
Injury Updates (direct quotes or summaries of quotes from Hurzeler)
Lewis Dunk “We have to see.” Earlier in the week, Hurzeler said Dunk was day by day.
Matt O'Riley & Joao Pedro are both back in training, but it’s unclear when they will be ready to be in the squad.
Ferdi Kadioglu’s injury is “not that bad…Hopefully he will be an option for Saturday.”
Yankuba Minteh is “in good shape” and could play against Liverpool.
Solly March needs more time. He is “not on the physical level like the players now who are playing every game…we have to be patient with him…I am sure he will be soon back on the pitch in the Premier League.”
Loan Updates (three standout players)
Facundo Buonanotte has been nominated for the Premier League’s Goal and Player of the Month awards for October. He has three goals and two assists for Leicester City so far in the Premier League this season.
Valentin Barco played 30 minutes for Sevilla last weekend against Espanyol before starting and playing 90 minutes for Los Nervionenses versus fifth-tier side Las Rozas in the Copa Del Rey. Barco’s manager has hinted that he may use him in more attacking positions due to his problems defending as a left back so far.
Ibrahim Osman started two games for Feyenoord last week as a right winger. He played all 90 minutes of the club’s 0-2 loss against Ajax on Wednesday.
Great write up as always!