Brighton & Hove have already made two signings this summer in Leon Balogun and Florin Andone, but who are the other players who look set to join them. Here at The 4th Official, we have a look.
Jason Steele
Brighton are looking to add a couple of backup keepers to their side and one of them looks set to be Sunderland keeper Jason Steele, after their relegation to League One. The Seagulls will need cover for Australian keeper Matthew Ryan who will miss a month of action in January with him set to be playing for Australia in the 2019 Asia Cup out in the United Arab Emirates.
This means Brighton will need a couple of keepers, one to step into the goal for four to seven matches depending on how far Australia go, plus a backup keeper for the bench. Steele will provide an experienced option having represented England all the way through to U21 level as well as representing Great Britain at the Olympics. He has also made 250 appearances in the Championship for three different clubs in Middlesbrough, Blackburn Rovers and Sunderland.
Steele could be a Brighton player as early as Thursday or if not definitely by the end of the week.
Percy Tau
Brighton are also in the market for another striker despite buying two strikers in the last two transfers windows in club-record signing Jurgen Locadia and Andone. The Argus confirmed Brighton’s interest in signing Percy Tau from Mamelodi Sundowns. The striker scored eleven goals and also got 15 assists last seasons to help Sundowns win the league. The 24-year-old striker is also a South African international and is looking for a move to Europe.
The move would make sense for both sides as Sundowns are happy to let Tau go for the right amount and Brighton are looking to add more attacking firepower to their side after only managing to score 34 goals in last season’s Premier League. 14 of these goals came from striker Glenn Murray, but Brighton cannot keep relying on him to score the bulk of the goals with him being 34 years already.
David Button
Another player that Brighton would be looking to add to their ranks is another goalkeeper in Fulham’s No.2 keeper, David Button. This transfer could see Fulham and Brighton swap No.2 keepers with Albion’s current backup keeper, Tim Krul looking very likely to end up going to Fulham.
Button has made 60 appearances for Fulham since 2016 after moving from Brentford where he made 134 appearances in a three-year stint at Griffin Park. The keeper has also represented England at U16, U17, U19 and U20 level. Button would be a great option for a backup keeper as when he came in for Fulham last season, he impressed.
If Brighton can get all three of the players above, manager Chris Hughton will be very happy with the additions he has made.
