THE GREAT BRITISH BACK-OFF
Seagulls forced to go foreign ahead of assault on Prem
PREMIER League new boys Brighton claim they are being priced out of buying British by sky-high transfer fees.
The Seagulls have recruited midfielder Pascal Gross and defender Markus Suttner from German club Ingolstadt and Aussie goalkeeper Maty Ryan.
Brazilian midfielder Renato Neto has been given the green light by Belgian side Gent to head to the south coast for a medical while the two clubs haggle over a transfer fee.
In contrast, Brighton’s opening day opponents, Manchester City, have made £54m Kyle Walker the world’s most expensive defender.
Brighton chief executive, Paul Barber says those eye-watering ® amounts mean plenty of air miles for the club’s scouting team.
“British players have always been bought and sold at a premium,” said Barber. “That is the nature of the market.
“It is no coincidence our first three signings have been from outside the UK.
“That is not to say we won’t consider UK signings, of course we will, but it is not easy and very expensive.”
Barber also believes greedy overseas clubs are taking advantage of the Premier League cash cow.
Ingolstadt initially demanded £5m for Austrian Suttner, 30, before accepting Brighton’s £3m offer when they threatened to pull out of the deal. Barber added: “This is the market we are in. It is tough, the prices are high and the Premier League club prices are inflated as a matter of routine.
“I would expect all the other signings we have got to do to follow a similar pattern.”
Brighton are keen to bring Liverpool defender Joe Gomez to the Amex Stadium on loan.
But manager Chris Hughton has come under fire from fans for his lack of recruitment ahead of the club’s historic return to the top flight.
But the Seagulls boss is confident the recruits needed to avoid the drop will arrive.
“We would like to start the
season and finish the window with a squad we feel is capable of doing enough,” said the former Newcastle and Norwich manager. “I’m really delighted with the work we’ve done so far. “We made a decision at the end of last season that we wanted to add to the squad. “It’s always difficult getting that balance between what we had last season to improving the squad.” Hughton says he has been shocked by the amount of money changing hands for players. He added: “From my last experiences in the Premier League, the dramatic change has been the level of transfers, and transfer fees. Certainly, as a club coming into this division, that is something we have to work with and try to get used to.”
Glenn Murray is more concerned about the Seagulls squad acclimatising to the demands of top-flight football.
The veteran striker has warned his team-mates that staying in the Premier League will be a tall order.
Murray, whose goals fired the club to promotion from the Championship, said: “For any newly promoted club, the aim is to stay in the division and that is the aim for the first two or three seasons.
“It will be the biggest challenge we have come up against it, even more than last year.
“It is going to be tough but we all know what we need to do.”