Brighton & Hove Albion are being linked with a move for Lucas Perez from Arsenal and Ezequiel Schelotto from Sporting Lisbon. The Seagulls lost their opening Premier League game to title favourites Manchester City 2-0 at The AMEX. Brighton will be hoping to strengthen their squad with more quality players in order to get a better result against 2015/16 Premier League champions Leicester City.
Ezequiel Schelotto:
Schelotto is Argentina born but is an Italian international having made one appearance since making his debut in 2012, in a friendly against England.
The Italian full back has been at Sporting Lisbon since 2015 after joining from Inter Milan. Since signing in 2015, Schelotto has made 34 appearances for Lisbon and failed to score. Last season he made 23 appearances for Lisbon.
The Seagulls are looking to strengthen in the full-back area with the first choice right back Bruno being 36 and not having the pace he once possessed. At 28, Schelotto would be a much younger option for Brighton and being 6ft 2 would also mean he would be capable to challenge in the air. The 28-year-old Italian full-back is versatile as he can play on the wing as well as at full-back.
In my opinion, Schelotto would be a great signing for The Seagulls as he can chip in with a few goals and has experience both internationally with Italy and has also played for big clubs like Inter Milan and Sporting Lisbon. Schelotto also has the two nicknames one is El Galgo, which means ‘The Greyhound in Spanish and El Mosquetero, which means ‘The Musketeer’ in Spanish.
Lucas Perez:
The 28-year-old is out of favour at Arsenal after them strengthening in their striking department with Alexander Lacazette this summer. Perez has only made 11 appearances since joining Arsenal from Deportivo La Coruna in 2016 for £17 million.
The Striker has plenty of experience having played for big clubs like Arsenal, Dynamo Kiev and PAOK. Brighton are looking to strengthen up front and add a quicker striker to their ranks to link up with their target men Glenn Murray and Tomer Hemed. In my opinion, from watching Perez playing for Arsenal last season, he fits the bill as he is 5ft 11 so is not the height of a target man and he has the pace to get in behind the defence which is exactly what Brighton want.
Perez also has a poacher instinct as he seems to be in the right place in the box to score. Overall, I think Perez would be a fantastic signing and although it would cost £2o million, he could be good value for money.
