Graham Potter has been named as Chelsea’s new manager – and he was renowned for making a number of shrewd acquisitions during his time at Brighton.
Potter did a fantastic job on the south coast and guided the Seagulls to a ninth-place finish in 2021-22, a club record high in the top flight.
A lot of his success was down to the transfer policy, and the manager reportedly wants to bring three members of his Brighton staff to Stamford Bridge, including recruitment analyst Kyle Macaulay.
We’ve taken a look at eight of the best signings he made during his three years at Brighton.
Moises Caicedo
Caicedo was a relatively unknown 19-year-old when he joined Brighton from Independiente del Valle in an £4.5million deal in January 2021.
The midfielder joined Belgian side Beerschot on loan for the first half of the 2021-22 campaign before being recalled for the second part of the season.
He made his Premier League debut in a 2-1 win over Arsenal in April 2022 and then went from strength to strength under the tutelage of Potter, establishing himself as one of the best young players in the Premier League.
The Ecuador international was linked with Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool during the summer window and is now valued at around £50million.
Marc Cucurella
A Barcelona academy graduate, Cucurella starred at Getafe in 2020-21 and Brighton acted quickly to trigger the £15.4million release clause in his contract.
The left-back impressed in defence and attack during a sensational debut campaign and won both the Players’ and Supporters’ Player of the Season awards in 2021-22.
It proved to be his only season at the club but Brighton made a huge profit on the defender, selling him to Chelsea in a deal worth more than £60million.
Potter bid farewell to Cucurella just a few weeks ago but the duo will now work together once again.
Adam Webster
A few eyebrows were raised when Brighton broke their transfer record to sign Webster from Bristol City for £20million in 2019.
But the centre-back made a seamless transition from the Championship to the Premier League and has become a leader at the heart of Brighton’s defence. He’s also renowned for his passing range and helps Brighton bring the ball out from the back.
The 27-year-old struggled with injuries in 2021-22 but his impressive performances prompted talk of a call-up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
“He has to play in the Premier League regularly to be mentioned in those terms but, in terms of his attributes, I don’t see anybody else at the same level of attributes that Adam Webster has,” Potter said. “If you want to build from the back, if you want to carry the ball, if you want to progress the ball from those areas, he’s fantastic, that’s his quality.
“Now it’s just a case of him enjoying his football with us and keep on the pitch, keep playing, be injury-free, then anything is possible with him.”
Leandro Trossard
Potter’s second signing at Brighton, Trossard joined the club in a £15million deal after captaining Genk to the Belgian league title in 2018-19.
He has been one of their standout performers over the last three years and registered 20 goals and 13 assists in 110 appearances under Potter.
The Belgium international, who mainly plays as a left-winger, has reportedly caught the attention of Manchester United, Arsenal and Newcastle United but Brighton will be desperate to keep hold of him.
Leandro Trossard bags for Brighton in the 90th minute! 😱
A lovely cut inside and finish!
That's a big blow to Tottenham's hopes of #UCL football… 😬 pic.twitter.com/xkggEnBUjF
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 16, 2022
Joel Veltman
Brighton love a bargain and they capitalised on a release clause in Veltman’s Ajax contract, landing him for just £900,000 in the summer of 2020.
The right-back quickly became one one of the first names on the teamsheet and has also shown incredible versatility, filling in at centre-back, left-back and right-wing-back.
Despite being asked to play in a variety of different positions, he rarely puts a foot wrong and has been Brighton’s Mr Reliable during his time at the Amex Stadium.
Whle Potter will have access to a much bigger budget at Chelsea, Veltman proves that you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make brilliant signings.
Neal Maupay
After Maupay scored 28 goals for Brentford in 2018-19, Potter sanctioned a bid a for the striker and Brighton spent around £20million to secure his signature.
He divided opinion among the Brighton fans but was their top goalscorer in each of his three seasons at the club and helped keep them in the Premier League.
“From a personal perspective, I can probably count on one hand how many players that have helped me become a better coach, the same as Neal. What he has done for us over the last three years is clear,” Potter said after the striker moved to Everton in 2022.
Danny Welbeck
After struggling with injury problems and scoring just two Premier League goals during his solitary season at Watford, Welbeck didn’t have many suitors in the summer of 2020.
But Potter recognised his abilities and decided to sign the former Manchester United and Arsenal striker on a free transfer.
Despite missing a few games due to injuries, he became a key player for Potter and registered 12 goals and eight assists under him.
“It was a no-brainer to me because of what he brings on and off the pitch,” Potter said when asked about extending Welbeck’s contract. “He is as impressive off the pitch as he is on it so when you have got that then you realise that is a valuable asset.
“I have always kept it quite simple with Danny; if he is playing and he is enjoying his football and he’s fit then everything else takes care of itself.
“Then you can see his quality and then you can see what he brings to any team so it is really exciting for us, the level he is at, and the job now is to keep him at that level.”
Danny Welbeck scored one of the goals of 2020/21! 🤩#GoalOfTheDay // @OfficialBHAFC pic.twitter.com/lRycogjYlw
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 31, 2021
Tariq Lamptey
A player that Chelsea fans know all about, Lamptey came through their academy before joining Brighton in a £5million deal in January 2020.
He made an immediate impact and quickly became a fan favourite due to his blistering pace, dribbling ability and fearlessness in attack.
A hamstring issue derailed his progress and kept him on the sidelines for 10 months in 2021, but he’s bounced back and has been since linked with both Arsenal and Tottenham.
