Adrian Mazilu joined Brighton from FCV Farul Constanta on January 1, 2024, for a fee of £2.5m.
The Romanian went straight out on loan, but hamstring injuries have seen him sidelined for over a year.
The 19-year-old was said to be a wunderkind, so what can he bring when he returns, and where would he fit in?
VAVEL explores all here.
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Club Career
Mazilu started his career at Academia Hagi and moved to FCV Farul Youth in the summer of 2018.
He spent three years in the youth academy before moving up to the U18s on his 16th birthday in September 2021.
The youngster spent 10 months playing for the U18s.
He put in many impressive performances, so he was promoted to the first team in the summer of 2022.
In his first professional season he played 1,148 minutes across 21 games.
In total, he scored seven goals and picked up one assist.
His average of a goal contribution every 143.5 minutes is very good for a teenager.
He made his FCV Farul debut in the Cupa României against FC Rapid 1923.
He played 45 minutes and scored.
He also played a further half an hour in the cup.
In the SuperLiga he played 10 games and scored four goals.
These goals came against CS Universitatea Craiova, UTA Arad, Sepsi OSK Sf. Gheorghe, and FC Rapid.
His team did not lose when he scored.
FCV Farul's amazing league campaign saw them play in the SuperLiga - Championship Group, which gave them a chance to become Romanian champion.
Mazilu played nine out of the 10 Championship games, scored two goals, and provided one assist.
He scored against Sepsi OSK and CFR Cluj.
And he assisted against CS Universitatea Craiova.
Once again, his team did not lose when he picked up a goal contribution.
FCV Farul picked up 21 points in the 10 games and that was enough to see them crowned Romanian champions.
Mazilu won a trophy in his first professional season.
The following season, he remained with the first team and played 25 games across the first half of the season.
In 1,550 minutes of football, he scored two goals and provided three assists.
FCV Farul's league title meant they went into Champions League Qualifying.
Mazilu played in both legs of the First Round qualifying against FC Sheriff.
The Romanian side won the first leg 1-0, but unfortunately lost 3-0 after extra time in the second leg.
However, their defeat meant they dropped into the Europa Conference League Qualifying.
Here, Mazilu played six games, scored one goal, and picked up one assist.
His goal came in the first leg of the Second Round against FC Urartu of Armenia.
And his assist came in the second leg of the same tie.
His side won both the Second Round and Third Round matchups but succumbed to a 3-2 aggregate defeat to Finnish side HJK Helsinki.
In the SuperLiga, he played 16 games, in which he scored one goal and assisted twice.
His goal came against FC Rapid.
And his two assists both came in the same game against FC Dinamo.
He also played 71 minutes in the Supercupa României final.
His team lost 1-0 to Sepsi OSK.
Come January and Mazilu's performances and statistics had popped up in Tony Bloom's data.
On New Year's Day 2024, he signed for Brighton.
Three weeks later, he was loaned out to struggling Eredivise side Vitesse.
He linked up with familiar names such as Kacper Koslowski and Davy Pröpper.
However, the loan did not go as planned, as he played just 66 minutes across four games and he was an unused substitute in 12 games.
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International Career
Despite his injury problems, Mazilu has played a lot of international youth games for Romania.
He made his Romania U15 debut on October 1, 2019, at the age of 14 years and 18 days.
In total, he was given four U15 caps.
He made his Romania U16 debut on September 23, 2020, at the age of 15 years and 10 days.
He was given seven U16 caps and he scored two goals.
His goals came against North Macedonia and Moldova.
Both of his debuts at these age levels were handed to him by Răzvan Rotaru.
He made his Romania U17 debut on August 4, 2021, at the age of 15 years, 10 months, and 22 days.
The youngster picked up six U17 caps.
He made his Romania U18 debut on September 22, 2022, at the age of 17 years and nine days.
He played five games and scored two goals.
Impressively, he scored against Spain and Serbia.
Both of his U17 and U18 debuts were given to him by Daniel Mogosanu.
He made his U19 debut on March 22, 2023, at the age of 17 years, six months and nine days.
He played six games, scoring two goals and providing two assists.
He scored against Northern Ireland and Germany.
And he assisted against Germany and Croatia.
He made his Romania U21 debut on June 21, 2023, at the age of 17 years, nine months, and eight days.
In total, he picked up seven U21 caps.
He also assisted against Albania.
His U21 debut was given to him by Emil Săndoi.
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What can he bring to Brighton?
Mazilu is a very dangerous type of winger.
His is pure chaos and unpredictable.
While he is still at the beginning of his development, there are four players he can be compared to.
The first of those is Manchester City's Jeremy Doku.
Both players are high-tempo, explosive dribbler who have a directness to their style of play.
Mazilu also shows that raw chaos on the wing. Especially, in one-on-one situations.
The next comparison is PSG's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.
The Georgian burst onto the scene as a high-risk, high-reward dribbler with strong verticality and ball-carrying qualities.
Mazilu also has that unpredictable edge.
He thrives in attacking transitions.
The third player comparison is Chelsea's Noni Madueke.
Both the Englishman and the Romanian are left-footed wingers who like to cut inside from the right.
They also like to isolate their opposing full-backs and attack inside channels.
Both are tricky, flair driven players who can create chances from nothing with individual brilliance.
The final comparison is to Cristiano Ronaldo during his early days at Sporting CP.
Mazilu is not the next Ronaldo, but in terms of both their youth profiles, there are many similarities.
Ronaldo was electric, raw, and a physically gifted winger with lots of flair and vertical threat.
Mazilu shares that same explosive intent.
The 19-year-old is also unique in terms of his height in relation to his position.
He is 6'1" tall, but plays as a winger.
With Brighton signing Tommy Watson, perhaps this is a hint to the type of profile the Seagulls are looking for.
Mazilu has played in a few different positions.
But it is clear he is an attacker.
He has played one game as an attacking midfielder, in which he provided an assist.
He can play as the 'number 10' but his qualities are much better suited to a wide player.
Brighton also have the likes of Georginio Rutter, João Pedro, Brajan Gruda, Facundo Buonaotte, and Julio Encisowho are all central players.
It would seem very unlikely he would be played here.
He has also played two games as a striker.
He scored one goal.
His height and pace definitely fit the profile of a number nine, but he does not have the clinical finishing needed to be a Premier League striker.
Brighton need another striker as the ones they have are either getting older - Danny Welbeck - unproven - Stefanos Tzimas - or not developing as hoped - Evan Ferguson.
So, maybe there could be an opportunity for Mazilu.
However, his full profile is not that of a striker.
It would be a surprise if he was tried up top.
He has played five games as a left winger.
Without a doubt, he is a winger, but his love for cutting inside makes him better on the opposite side.
Brighton also have Kaoru Mitoma,, Simon Adingra, Ibrahim Osman, and Watson as their left wing options.
So, while it is not impossible to see him play here, it would seem unlikely unless there are a few sales and a big gap in the squad.
The 19-year-old has played six games as a right midfielder, in which he has scored three goals.
He has too many attacking qualities to be used this deep.
Also, Fabian Hürzeler does not use a right midfielder in his formations, so it is extremely unlikely Mazilu is played here.
His best position is as a right winger.
He has played 25 games, scored three goals, and provided three assists.
All his attributes are perfectly suited to a right winger.
The only out-and-out right winger Brighton have is Yankuba Minteh, so there is a gap in the squad for a youngster to take.
If he recovers well from his injury, it would not be a surprise to see a wing partnership of him and Watson at some point.
Unfortunately, his future at the club all depends on his recovery.
If he makes a full recovery, then there is still hope he can play a big part in the squad in the future.
He has the talent.
