The January transfer window saw Brighton and Hove Albion complete a total of 23 deals.
There were seven arrivals and 16 departures.
Many of the sales came as part of a big Academy clear-out, which came as a surprise to many Albion supporters.
The transfer window and the level of recent performances have not pleased a large section of the fanbase.
But was the window as bad as it seems? And what is the state of play as of February 2025?
VAVEL explores all here.
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The Outs:
Players leaving a club will always cause debates inside and outside of the club.
But Brighton's window - once looked at in detail - has logic and reason to it.
The squad members who went out on loan were those who all needed game time to continue and grow their development.
And those who left on permanent deals were either not good enough for the Premier League or nearing the end of their contract.
That includes both the first team and the academy.
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Jakub Moder - Feyenoord
Moder joined the club in 2020 for a fee of around £10 million.
He made a total of 71 appearances for the club, scoring two goals, and providing four assists.
However, much of his time at the club was spent on the sidelines with a cruciate ligament tear, which saw him miss 93 games across 576 days.
Upon his return, he found himself in a squad with a lot more quality, so it was difficult for him to get chances and force his way back into the team.
The Polish international has been a fantastic servant to the club, but it was the right time for all parties to move on and head in different directions.
On January 20, 2025, Moder moved to Feyenoord for a package or around £2-£3 million.
The fee is pretty cheap for a player of his quality and potential, but only time will tell if he can reach his top level once again.
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Imari Samuels - Dundee FC
Samuels joined Brighton from Reading on August 5, 2022, on a free transfer.
He played a total of 36 games for the U21s across three seasons.
He scored one goal and picked up seven assists from left-back.
The Englishman also spent the second half of the 2023/24 season out on loan at League One's Fleetwood Town.
He played 71 minutes across four games.
The 22-year-old was also given a chance in the senior team in the Carabao Cup game against Crawley Town this season.
He played 71 minutes and put on an impressive display that many supporters thought would give him more opportunities in the near future.
However, it did not work out that way.
On January 13, 2025, he joined Dundee FC for an undisclosed fee.
While Samuels looked good against a League One side, it is likely that the club decided he was not good enough for a side that are in the top 10 and wanting to push for European football on a regular basis.
He will certainly be an interesting one to follow over the next few years to see how his development continues.
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Valentín Barco - RC Strasbourg
Barco's departure is one that caused much confusion and disappointment amongst fans on social media.
When the Argentine joined the club in January last year there was huge excitement around his arrival.
He was seen as one of the next big things to come out of Brighton.
In his first six months at the club, he played 318 minutes across seven games.
His performances in his limited minutes were enough to convince the fans that he was ready for a prominent place in the 2024/25 squad.
The youngster also looked good in pre-season, which increased expectations even more.
However, the club did not see it in exactly the same way.
On August 23, 2024, he was sent on loan to Sevilla in La Liga.
It is not unfair to say his time there did not go as planned.
The 20-year-old only played 466 minutes across nine games.
There was also reportedly a lot of unrest between him and his manager and teammates.
After hearing these reports there was a collective agreement from Seagulls fans that he should be recalled and have a place in the squad.
He was recalled.
But on February 2, 2025, he was sent on loan to Strasbourg with an obligation to buy for £8m in the summer.
As per usual, there was more confusion and negativity on social media around this transfer.
Especially, because he was now part of the BlueCo group and looking like he had a free path to Chelsea in a few years.
However, there is speculation that Barco has a very poor attitude and personality that did not fit Brighton's 'no bad apples' policy.
So, if this is true, then there is no surprise that he has been let go by the club.
The cheap fee received is very disappointing as there is no doubt that he has the potential to be special.
Hopefully, this is one that will prove a correct decision for the club and will not come back to bite them in a couple of years time.
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Julio Enciso - Ipswich (loan)
Enciso is considered to be - at least within the club and the fanbase - one of the most exciting talents within the squad.
So, his 581 minutes across just 16 games has come as quite a surprise to many.
There was belief that he would be one of the crucial parts this season.
The Paraguayan joined the club on July 1, 2022, and has since scored five goals and provided six assists in 57 games.
His goals against Chelsea and Manchester City showed why he is such a special talent.
Enciso's adamance to compete at the Olympics saw him miss pre-season under new boss Fabian Hürzeler, so his minutes at the beginning of the season were very limited.
He has recently started to play more minutes, but with the squad including an abundance of attacking players, the club decided he would be better off spending the second half of the season on loan.
This was to allow him to play consistent minutes and develop into what we know he can be.
On January 23, 2025, he joined fellow Premier League team Ipswich Town.
He has already impressed their supporters.
The loan could prove to be a fantastic decision next season of he comes back full of confidence and in good form.
However, it has been said there is reluctance from him to sign a new deal as it would restrict him from any future moves away from the club.
We will have to wait and see what the summer holds regarding his future, but all he needs to do now is knuckle down and show off his talent.
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Evan Ferguson - West Ham (Loan)
This is a deal that left fans speechless for a variety of reasons.
Ferguson joined Brighton from Bohemians on January 9, 2021, and immediately looked unstoppable.
His first season in the Premier League was the 2022/23 season.
In 1,345 minutes across 25 games, he scored 10 goals and provided three assists.
He scored six league goals, three FA Cup goals, and one EFL Cup goal.
He looked strong, powerful, and clinical throughout every minute he played.
Brighton had finally found the goal scorer they had been craving.
The 2023/24 season saw him score six goals in 36 games.
But his season was riddled with a knee injury and a cruciate ligament tear.
His cruciate ligament tear carried over into the season and just months after his return, he picked up an ankle injury.
He has only played 390 minutes across 15 games and has only scored one goal.
Brighton's only out and out striker option is Danny Welbeck, so there would be plenty of chances for the Irishman to play throughout the rest if the season.
But on Deadline Day, he moved to West Ham United on a straight loan for the remainder of the season.
The 19-year-old will definitely receive loads of minutes under Graham Potter so the decision can be justified that way.
But - correctly so - most of the Brighton fanbase wanted Ferguson to stay and relight that attacking quality that has gone dull in recent weeks.
Ferguson will come back a better player in the summer.
The question is: will he stay, or will he be sold?
The latter would be a questionable decision at this moment in time...
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Ed Turns - Exeter City
Turns joined up with the Brighton U18s squad on July 1, 2019, after coming through the ranks in the youth system.
He played 32 games across four seasons for the U18s, scoring five goals and picking up one assist.
The Welshman also made 58 appearances for the U21s team.
He scored two goals and provided three assists in a total of 5,003 minutes.
During his time within the academy, he made loan moves to Leyton Orient and Crewe Alexandra.
He made 33 appearances for Leyton Orient, and 14 appearances for Crewe Alexandra.
Turns has also had two EFL Cup starts for the first team, which came against Swansea and Forest Green.
A proud moment for the youngster born in Brighton.
The 22-year-old has always been on the fringes of the senior team squad and there is only a certain amount of time you can remain in a youth side before the time comes to move on.
That time was this window.
On February 3, 2025, he moved to Exeter for an undisclosed fee.
The perfect move for a player in his position.
Too good for the U21s, not good enough for the top half of the Premier League.
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Benicio Baker-Boaitey - Millwall
Baker-Boaitey joined Brighton U23s on loan from FC Porto U19 on January 31, 2022, before making a permanent move in the summer.
The winger made appearances for both the U18s and U21s across three seasons.
He played a total of 1,421 minutes across 35 games.
He scored one goal and provided two assists.
The 21-year-old also made six substitute appearances for the first team during the 2023/24 season.
In this time the fans also gave him the nickname Triple B.
Come the 2024/24 season and the smart decision was made to loan him to League Two Port Vale to gain some valuable first team experience.
During the first five months of the season, he played 581 minutes across 14 games, providing two assists.
Many Port Vale supporters said they were very pleased with his performances.
He returned to Brighton on January 8, 2025, before being sold to Championship side Millwall on February 3, 2025, for a deal potentially worth close to £1 million in total.
He is another play that is too good for the U21s, but not quite good enough for the current senior squad.
Personally, I believe he will go on to become on a very good bottom half/mid-table Premier League winger.
He is one to keep an eye out for in future seasons.
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Cameron Peupion - ADO Den Haag
Peupion joined Brighton's U18 squad from Sydney FC II on August 18, 2020, for a fee of around £150k.
The Australian played 1,402 minutes across 18 games for the U18s.
He scored 10 goals and provided three assists.
The youngster looked to have bags of potential.
A year later he was promoted to the U23s.
He spent four seasons with the U23s/U21s, in which he played 68 games.
He scored 19 goals and picked up 16 assists in 5,593 minutes of football.
His stunning performances gave him opportunities in the first team.
He received 79 minutes across five games.
He provided two assists in the EFL Cup.
One against Forest Green, and another against Crawley Town.
The 22-year-old also spent three months on loan at Cheltenham Town in League One.
It did not work out very well for him.
He only played 98 minutes across six games.
Peupion is another player that follows the pattern of the previous two.
So, on January 31, 2025, he was sold to ADO Den Haag in the second tier of Dutch football.
The potential is still there for him to become an established top-flight player, but that was never going to happen at Brighton.
It would not be a surprise to see him playing in the Europa League or Conference League at some point in his career.
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Marcus Ifill - Bromley
Ifill joined Brighton's youth setup in 2020, after making a move from Swindon.
The Englishman made appearances for the U18s and U21s.
He played 50 games for the U18s, in which he scored 16 goals, and provided 13 assists in 3,270 minutes.
For the U21s he made 40 appearances, scoring six goals, and picking up six assists.
He played a total of 1,695 minutes.
The 21-year-old has never been sent out on loan.
On Deadline Day he moved on a permanent transfer to Bromley in League Two in search for a first team opportunity that he was very unlikely to have received at Brighton.
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Ruairi McConville - Norwich
So far, all the outs have been justified.
Either for the need for game time or not being good enough for a chance in the senior squad.
McConville is an exception to that.
He joined the club on July 1, 2021, from Linfield U18s.
While in the U18s and U21s he made 65 appearances.
He played 5,265 minutes and scored six goals and picked up three assists.
He also received his Northern Ireland debut while in the U21s.
He looked to be the perfect Lewis Dunk replacement.
However, he was sold to Norwich on Deadline Day for a fee of around £1 million.
Arguably, this is the most baffling move this window.
The 19-year-old was entering the final six months of his deal, but it is very surprising that a player of his talent and potential was let go so easily.
Perhaps he did not want to sign a new contract.
If that is the case it is understandable why he was sold now.
McConville is a player who will go on to have a fantastic career.
The first big loss for Brighton in the window.
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Kamari Doyle - Crawley Town (loan)
Doyle left south coast rivals Southampton to join Brighton in January 2024.
In his first six months with the club, he played 578 minutes across eight game and scored one goal.
He looked to be an exceptional talent.
At the start of this campaign, he joined up with League One Exeter City on loan.
He played 24 games, scoring four goals and providing one assists.
One of his goals was a breathtaking free kick that flew into the top corner.
In total he played 932 minutes.
On social media, Exeter supporters stated how brilliant he was and how disappointed they were that their manager did not play him more often.
Come the January window, the 19-year-old was recalled and loaned back to League One.
But this time to Crawley.
So far, he has played 22 minutes across two games.
There is a decent chance that he gets another loan next season, but he is a player that should be getting opportunities under Hürzeler very soon.
He is special.
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Ben Jackson - Queen's Park FC (loan)
Jackson signed for Brighton's U18s from Watford's youth academy on July 1, 2020, on a free transfer.
He played 3,151 minutes across 39 games for the U18s.
He also scored one goal.
The defender has also made 27 appearances for the U21s.
In 1,999 minutes, he has scored one goals and picked up two assists.
The 21-year-old spent the first half of this season in the Scottish Championship playing for Livingston FC.
He has only played 36 minutes.
His lack of minutes saw him recalled on January 17, 2025, and loaned to Queen's Park the next day.
He has played 113 minutes so far.
Jackson is a player I have not watched, so I cannot really comment on his qualities or potential.
But the fact he was loaned and not sold would suggest the club think he has a future here.
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Caylan Vickers - Mansfield Town (loan)
Vickers is similar to Doyle, in terms of he looks to have a lot of potential.
He joined the Brighton U21s from Reading on February 1, 2024, for an undisclosed fee.
Prior to his arrival he had played 619 minutes across 14 games for Reading in League One.
He scored one goal and provided one assist.
Vickers spent the remainder of the 2023/24 season playing for the U21, in which he scored one goal and provided two assists in nine games.
In total he played 693 minutes.
He started this campaign with the U21s, in which he has scored six goals and picked up two assists in 1,187 minutes of football.
The 20-year-old was demolishing the youth league.
So, on Deadline Day he was loaned to League One Mansfield.
The move should allow him to pick up some valuable first team experience and play the minutes he needs for his development.
Vickers is another player who could get first team opportunities soon.
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Louis Flower - Gateshead (loan)
Flower began his career with Chelsea before moving to Brighton U21s on September 1, 2023.
Across the 2023/24 and 2024/25 season Flower has played 1,483 minutes across 29 games.
He has scored eight goals and provided three assists.
The 20-year-old looks to be a strong and powerful striker with an eye for goal.
Flower was doing well in the Premier League 2, so on January 13, 2025, he was loaned to National League Gateshead.
So far, he has played 186 minutes across three games.
It remains to be seen if he is good enough for a first team chance.
But this loan will go a long way in showing what the future hold for him.
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Casper Nilsson - Released
Nilsson joined the club in the summer of 2020 from Malmö FF U17.
The Swedish youngster made a total of 87 appearances for the U18s and U21.
He scored one goal and provided three assists in 6,221 minutes of football.
On August 12, 2024, he was loaned to Scottish team Partick Thistle FC, where he only made four appearances.
His total minutes were 298.
The 21-year-old was recalled and both him and the club agreed a settlement for the remaining months of his contract.
He was released and is currently without a club.
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The Ins
Brighton and Tony Bloom are rarely active in the January window in terms of incomings.
But they were one of the highest spenders in the league this time around.
Most of the signings were certainly ones for the long-term, but they look to be top tier talents already.
Only three out of the five signings will be able to feature this season.
Two of the seven incomings were loan recalls.
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Sebastian Jensen - Free Agent
Jensen is an 18-year-old Danish goalkeeper who began his career in Everton's youth academy.
Across the 2022/23 season he played 16 games for Everton's U18s, conceding 23 goals and keeping five clean sheets.
He has also spent time at the likes of Stoke and Sandbach.
Brighton have a lot of young talented keepers, so Jensen has a lot of work to do to claim a spot in one of the youth teams.
But he is in the right environment to do so.
It will be interesting to see where he is in his development in the next two or three years.
I do not know too much about him or his potential, so it is fair to sit on the fence with a rating until we have seen more of him.
Rating: 6/10
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Carl Rushworth - Hull City (recall)
Rushworth is a player that has been with Brighton since the start of 2019, so everybody around the club knows how good he can be.
He has spent time on loan at Worthing, Walsall, Lincoln, Swansea and Hull.
His development has been steady.
The 23-year-old has played 170 games since he joined Brighton.
He has conceded 211 goals and kept 51 clean sheets.
In total he has played 15,141 minutes.
This season he had only made three appearances for Hull, so he was recalled to provide cover for Bart Verbruggen while number two Jason Steele recovers from shoulder surgery.
It seems unlikely we will see him play a single minute due to being cup-tied.
But he is there as an option if needs be.
A player of his quality and age needs to be playing to be able to reach the heights everyone knows he can.
So, it is a shame he has had to be recalled.
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Tom McGill - MK Dons (recall)
McGill has been with Brighton since 2014 and has followed a similar path to Rushworth.
He has played for both the U18s and U21s.
And he has been on loan moves to Worthing, Greenwich, Basingstoke, Crawley, and MK Dons.
While in the academy and at Crawley and MK Dons, the 24-year-old has played 10,464 minutes across 117 games.
He has conceded 206 goals and kept 17 clean sheets.
He has also received call-ups for the Canadian national team.
McGill had played 25 games for MK Dons so far this season.
But has been recalled due to the same reasons as Rushworth.
However, he is allegeable to be in the FA Cup squad against Chelsea.
It seems a little bit strange why he has also been recalled as he is now also unlikely to play many if any minutes for the rest of the season.
Even more so with Rushworth likely being ahead of him in the pecking order.
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Diego Gómez - Inter Miami (£10 million)
Brighton confirmed the signing of Gómez in November, but the deal could not be made official until January.
The Paraguayan cost the club around £10-£15 million including add ons.
He has only played 46 minutes so far in the Premier League, which makes it difficult to say if he is worth the fee just yet.
His performances in America show how good he can be and if he can translate those over to England then there is no doubt his value will rocket.
His 45 minutes against Nottingham Forest were one of the only positive things to come from that 7-0 embarrassment.
The 21-year-old is versatile, strong and athletic which points to him fitting in perfectly at Brighton.
He will likely play a good number of minutes in the final 14 games one the season.
Rating: 8/10
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Eiran Cashin - Derby County (£9 million)
After years of tracking and bidding, Brighton final secured the signing of Cashin.
The squad was in desperate need of defensive reinforcements due to injuries and underwhelming performances.
Cashin has been one of the standouts at Derby this season and a fee of £9 million + £3 million add ons is extremely cheap in the modern market.
The 23-year-old looks a great acquisition and will provide that solidity and depth that was much needed heading into the window.
The only concern is his lack of pace, which other Seagulls centre backs have been exposed with recently.
Rating: 7/10
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Stefanos Tzimas - FC Nürnberg (£22 million)
The signing of the window.
The 19-year-old has been on fire in the Bundesliga 2 this season and had been linked with moves the Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Tottenham.
He was reportedly close to a transfer to Fiorentina.
Tzimas has everything Brighton need to push into the top eight.
He is clinical, fast, a fantastic dribbler, and great in the air.
The deal includes a loan back to Nürnberg for the rest of the season.
But that will allow him to continue his development, score more goals, and be ready to compete next season.
Rating: 10/10
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Clement Bischoff - Brøndby (£7 million)
The deal for Bischoff was not agreed until after the window had closed, so he will not be joining until the summer.
So, technically he is a summer signing.
Across this season and last season, he has played 30 games for Brøndby, scoring two goals and providing eight assists.
In total he played 1,752 minutes.
He can play anywhere on the left, but is predominantly a left midfielder, which may suggest a switch to a 3-4-3 next season.
He will also provide some much-needed depth and competition in the fullback positions.
However, there is no guarantee he will not be loaned out next season.
If he does stay, then he will be an exciting addition for Albion fans to watch out for.
Rating: 9/10
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In or Out?
The season started with much positivity and excitement amongst supporters as Brighton came flying out of the traps and look unstoppable.
However, tactical issues, mentality problems, and injuries have begun to create a negative atmosphere surrounding the club.
Recent defeats and poor performances against Everton and Nottingham Forest have cast even more doubt into the minds of some fans.
But it is not as bad as it looks.
Hürzeler and many members of the squad are young and in their first Premier League season, so of course there was always going to be drops and inconsistencies throughout the season.
Injuries have also had a massive impact on the squad.
At points they have been left with one or two players to cover two or three positions.
It is no surprise the intensity has dropped.
The starting setup was a big issue and talking point amongst fans, with many saying how ridiculous it was for Hürzeler to start with only Jack Hinshelwood in midfield and Tariq Lamptey at left-back.
But if not Lamptey at left-back, who else?
Joël Veltman? Started at right back.
Pervis Estupiñán? Injured.
Igor? Injured.
Hinshelwood? Started in midfield.
Ferdi Kadıoğlu? Injured.
James Milner? Injured.
Solly March? Injured.
Hürzeler had no choice but to start Lamptey as his left-back.
What about in midfield?
If not Hinshelwood on his own, who else?
Carlos Baleba? Injured.
Yasin Ayari? Injured.
Matt O'Riley? Not fit to start
Diego Gómez? Not fit to start.
Milner? Injured.
Mats Wieffer? Injured.
The only fully fit midfielder that was available on the bench was Joe Knight, and if he had started there would have been even more outrage on social media.
Hürzeler's hands were tied and have been in recent weeks.
His system requires consistency and intensity, which is just not possible with so many players coming in and out from injuries.
Everything is there for the squad and the manager to succeed.
It will just take time, which is something supporters need to give and understand.
The squad perhaps does not also include vital player profiles that are needed for the system to work.
But that is something that can only be solved nothing season.
The January window has already started finding a few solutions, such as Tzimas and Bischoff.
The disappointment is understandable after lacklustre performances and below bar results, but the only way things will improve is by everyone getting behind the team.
Including Hürzeler.
'Trust the process'.
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