What a season it’s been so far over at Brighton. Despite losing Graham Potter after a frantic few games that saw them in the Champions League places, Roberto De Zerbi has come in and steadied the ship on the South Coast, ensuring the Seagulls have stayed competitive, currently still in the top eight at the time of writing.
While there were issues of inconsistency throughout the Italian’s first few weeks in charge, he’s already provided the Brighton fans with some pretty special moments. A late comeback at Anfield in his first game in charge only fuelled the fire of his players, who have gone on to beat the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal. And with the World Cup forcing the Premier League into a first-ever winter break, De Zerbi had plenty of time to assess his options and let his side recharge their batteries and look at where they stand amongst Premier League predictions.
The problem is, teams like Brighton only have a life span. Their side are massively overachieving but you get the sense that they won’t get to stay together for too long before some of Europe’s biggest sides come calling and pick their team apart. It’s happened a lot to South Coast rivals Southampton, who over the years have lost Sadio Mane, Virgil van Dijk and Tusan Tadic all at the peak of their powers. You do wonder if Brighton will follow a similar path or if De Zerbi has enough to rally the troops.
There’s an abundance of talent over at the Amex Stadium, so let’s take a look at who could be on the move come the end of the season. Read on to find out more.
Alexis Mac Allister
Let’s start with World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister. The Argentina international, who played a massive part in his country’s success in Qatar, paraded the trophy back to Brighton with him and even had Lionel Messi dropping comments on the club’s Instagram account. A wonderful technician, Mac Allister can be deployed out wide as well as in the number 10 role and while his best performances in a Seagulls shirt have been sporadic, you sense that the form he picked up in the Middle East will only carry over to Premier League football, with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United interested in the 24-year-old’s signature, improving both side’s Premier League betting tips.
Leandro Trossard
With just a year left on his contract at the Amex, plenty of clubs will be interested in Leandro Trossard over the summer, with the potential to snap the Belgian up on a cheap deal. At 28 years old, he’s something of a late bloomer, but Trossard’s versatility and end product has come on leaps and bounds over the last 18 months, already scoring seven goals this season including a hattrick against Liverpool in the 3-3 draw. While it’s unclear if he’ll extend with Brighton, both Arsenal and Newcastle United have expressed interested in Trossard, and would be hard to turn either down if they secure Champions League football.
Robert Sánchez
Another player that travelled to the World Cup, Robert Sánchez has been a man possessed in between the sticks for Brighton, with the Spanish keeper up there with Alisson and David de Gea when it comes to the best number ones this season. An error against United on the opening day only fuelled the fire for Sanchez, who has gone on to make a number of impressive performances, and his passing and distribution is tailor made for a big team. Linked with England as well as sides in his native Spain, Brighton would struggle to replace a man of his talents, but only time will tell what the future has in store for Sanchez and the Seagulls.
