Brighton & Hove Albion have spent just over £300million on 19 players across four transfer windows since Fabian Hurzeler was appointed head coach in 2024.
The total rises by £21.5m ($28.7m) as the summer transfer window opens on Monday, with the signing of 18-year-old Nigerian winger Zadok Yohanna from AIK in Sweden recently announced.
Another eventful window is expected following the departure of sporting director Jason Ayto this month due to irreconcilable differences over the emphasis on data-led recruitment. Owner-chairman Tony Bloom’s worldwide data bank has helped Brighton make some shrewd deals, but has their strong trading reputation been tarnished during the first two years of Hurzeler’s reign?
Every first-team player signed under Hurzeler has been assessed and rated out of 10 by The Athletic, focusing on those who have made Premier League appearances.
Summer 2024 window
Georginio Rutter
Signed from: Leeds United
Fee: £40m
Premier League appearances: 60 (39 starts, 21 sub)
The club-record outlay for the 24-year-old Frenchman looked like money well spent in his first season. Powerful running and a high work rate made him a nuisance to opposing defences, whether in his main position at No 10, wide on the right or as a No 9. That was until ankle ligament damage cut short his campaign from March 2025.
His form and confidence nosedived in an ineffective second season. Playing him as the No 9 does not work. Rutter needs to rediscover his mojo — otherwise, he will become an expensive mistake.
Rating: 5.5/10
Georginio Rutter is struggling to justify his transfer fee (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Yankuba Minteh
From: Newcastle United
Fee: £30m
Appearances: 66 (46 starts, 20 sub)
Mercurial is the best way to describe the Gambia winger. He can be exhilarating in one match, infuriating in the next; quick and elusive at his best, frequently lacking an end product at his worst.
There is room for improvement with his time-keeping as well. The ability is there and, at 21, there is plenty of scope to solidify the initial impression that the purchase fee will ultimately be decent value.
Rating: 7
Yankuba Minteh can be brilliant (Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
Mats Wieffer
From: Feyenoord
Fee: £25m
Appearances: 51 (33 starts, 18 sub)
Hurzeler deserves credit for helping to transform Wieffer’s fortunes. He had a rough time to begin with in his regular position as a central midfielder. Hurzeler has turned him into a combative and largely effective right-back.
Injuries niggles have occasionally interrupted his rhythm, but it is a testimony to the way Wieffer has performed that Ronald Koeman brought the 26-year-old back into the Netherlands squad for the World Cup in his revised role after an absence of nine months.
Rating: 7
Mats Wieffer is back in the Dutch fold at the World Cup (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Ferdi Kadioglu
From: Fenerbahce
Fee: £25m
Appearances: 43 (39 starts, four sub)
The pick of the bunch of the players signed in Hurzeler’s first transfer window. Kadioglu has impressed from the moment he walked through the door.
He was unlucky to have his first season abruptly curtailed by a toe injury after two goals in eight appearances, but was deservedly named the club’s player of the season second time around for his energy and consistency. The Turk is versatile as well, but left-back is his best position.
Rating: 9
Ferdi Kadioglu has been the most impressive signing from the past four windows (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Brajan Gruda
From: Mainz
Fee: £25m
Appearances: 39 (16 starts, 23 sub)
The talent is transparent, the mentality less so. The 22-year-old has delivered a mixture of exceptional and lightweight performances at No 10 or on the right wing, but has not done enough to justify more game time.
It was disappointing to see the under-21 international return to Germany on loan to RB Leipzig in January for the rest of the campaign in an unsuccessful bid to force his way into their World Cup squad.
Rating: 5.5
Brajan Gruda spent the second half of last season on loan back in Germany (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Matt O’Riley
From: Celtic
Fee: £25m
Appearances: 27 (13 starts, 14 sub)
It just has not worked out, wherever he has played. It is a strange one because it has been evident through selection (or, rather, non-selection) and a loan spell with Marseille that Hurzeler has never really seen the 25-year-old midfielder as a regular part of his plans.
As much as anything, 19 goals and 25 assists in 79 league appearances for Celtic, compared to three goals and three assists in 27 league outings for Brighton, indicate the gap between the top flights in England and Scotland.
Rating: 5
Matt O’Riley has found the going much tougher in England than it was in Scotland (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)
January 2025 window
Stefanos Tzimas
From: Nurnberg
Fee: £20m
Appearances: nine (one start, eight sub)
It is too soon to assess whether the money spent will prove to be a good deal.
The early signs are encouraging. He has looked a lively No 9 alternative to Danny Welbeck, albeit on limited evidence. Tzimas was finding his feet when he sustained an anterior cruciate knee ligament rupture on his full Premier League debut in a 4-3 home defeat by Aston Villa in December. He has not played since but at 20, the hope is that he can recover to rediscover that early promise.
Rating: 6
Stefanos Tzimas offered flashes of his talent before injury struck (Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Diego Gomez
From: Inter Miami
Fee: £11m
Appearances: 48 (30 start, 18 sub)
The 23-year-old Paraguay international has demonstrated in his first 18 months that he is a value-for-money addition.
Six goals and two assists across 48 league appearances, 18 of which have been as a substitute, is a reasonable return for a competitive and adaptable performer. Gomez is normally a midfielder for his country, but he has also operated on both flanks under Hurzeler, sometimes deputising on the left during Kaoru Mitoma’s injury absences.
Rating: 8
Diego Gomez looks a fine addition at Brighton (George Wood/Getty Images)
Eiran Cashin
From: Derby County
Fee: £9m
Appearances: two (zero starts, two sub)
The weirdest of all the signings over the past two years, the left-sided central defender has plenty of Championship experience but there has been no evidence that Hurzeler regards the 24-year-old Irishman as a Premier League option.
A nervy top-flight debut off the bench in a 3-0 home defeat by Aston Villa has been followed by second-tier loans at Birmingham City (no worthwhile game time) and Blackburn Rovers (which worked out better). Cashin has a contract until 2030, but it requires a leap in the imagination at this stage to see him as part of Hurzeler’s first-team plans.
Rating: 4.5
Eiran Cashin has found opportunities limited at Brighton (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Summer 2025 window
Charalampos Kostoulas
From: Olympiacos
Fee: £30m
Appearances: 21 (two starts, 19 sub)
The size of the fee for an unproven 18-year-old provoked inflated expectations. His debut campaign in English football was adequate in the circumstances, with involvement in over half of the league fixtures, but Kostoulas did not do enough in training to convince Hurzeler he was worthy of more game time as the No 9 or No 10.
The now-19-year-old’s untapped talent and potential are obvious, highlighted by an outrageous overhead kick that rescued a point in the closing moments against Bournemouth at the Amex in January.
Rating: 6
Charalampos Kostoulas scores an outrageous equaliser at Bournemouth (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
Maxim De Cuyper
From: Brugge
Fee: £17.3m
Appearances: 30 (17 starts, 13 sub)
He arrived with a reputation for adventure and purposeful attacking, but with question marks defensively. That remains the case after playing second fiddle, for the most part, to Kadioglu at left-back.
The Belgium international is a different type of player to powerful predecessor Pervis Estupinan. A useful addition to the squad, but he has work to do to convince supporters he is an upgrade on the popular Ecuadorian.
Rating: 7
Maxim De Cuyper is still convincing the Brighton faithful of his abilities (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Diego Coppola
From: Verona
Fee: £9.4m
Appearances: Five (two starts, five sub)
Coppola has performed with promise on the few occasions he has featured. His path has been blocked by Jan Paul van Hecke’s performances on the right side of central defender, but the Italian is physically equipped for the rigours of the Premier League and, at 22, there is room to develop his distribution, which tends to err on the side of safety.
Regular minutes on loan to Paris FC from January, helping the Ligue 1 club escape relegation trouble, puts him in a stronger position to make a case for more game time if van Hecke, the subject of two rejected transfer bids from Tottenham Hotspur, is sold.
Rating: 6
Diego Coppola is showing signs of promise (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Olivier Boscagli
From: PSV
Fee: Free transfer
Appearances: 12 (nine starts, three sub)
The Frenchman has a good pedigree. He found himself in a similar situation as Coppola in his first season, trapped behind long-serving skipper Lewis Dunk as the left-sided option at the heart of the back four.
But he is accomplished in possession with a good range of passing. The question marks are that he does not bring noticeable extra pace and, at just 5ft 11in/181cm, the 28-year-old can look vulnerable against powerful strikers, especially in the air.
Rating: 6.5
Is Olivier Boscagli imposing enough in the air? (Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Tommy Watson
From: Sunderland
Fee: £10m
Appearances: Six (zero starts, six sub)
Although signed with the future in mind, he has not made as much progress as hoped. Injuries contributed to the 20-year-old winger’s early impact stalling after three assists in a 6-0 win at Barnsley in the Carabao Cup.
He is destined for another spell on loan in the hope that the next one works better than a stint at Millwall in the second half of the season. He only started two matches for the Championship side.
Rating: 5
Tommy Watson found opportunities limited at Brighton and ended his first season on loan at Millwall (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
January 2026 window
Pascal Gross
From: Borussia Dortmund
Fee: £1.7m
Appearances: 19 (18 starts, one sub)
Bringing Gross back to the club after 18 months in his homeland could hardly have gone better. Even at 35, the German has the guile to make an impact in the Premier League.
He played a big part in the turnaround to help qualify for the Conference League in eighth spot. Hurzeler’s side were 14th when he was re-signed. He started and finished 17 of the last 18 league games and his form earned him a recall from Julian Nagelsmann to the Germany squad for the World Cup.
An all-round deal winner.
Rating: 9
Pascal Gross has been an excellent re-signing (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Others with no Premier League appearances
Part of the model involving signing teenagers with limited first-team experience who are developed, often via loans, to a point where they either break into the senior squad or are sold on at a profit (or, at worst, breaking even).
The big splash in the summer of 2024 included Ghana winger Ibrahim Osman (£16m from Nordsjaelland), Mali midfielder Malick Yalcouye (£6m from Gothenburg) and England junior international winger Amario Cozier-Duberry (free from Arsenal).
They were followed in the summer of 2025 by South Korean winger Youn Do-young (£2m from Daejeon Hana Citizen).
Of these players, only Cozier-Duberry has looked capable of featuring in Hurzeler’s plans. The 21-year-old stood out on loan at Bolton Wanderers, contributing nine goals and 13 assists across 37 League One appearances, including the play-offs as they earned promotion.
It is a big step up from League One to the Premier League, but Cozier-Duberry has attracted widespread interest across Europe amid ongoing talks over a new contract, with his deal expiring in June 2028. He will be assessed by Hurzeler when the players report back for pre-season before a decision is made on his future.
