Brighton’s worst Premier League signings of all time

Brighton & Hove Albion's recruitment department has earned widespread praise for finding undervalued players and turning them into major profits, helping the Seagulls go from Championship strugglers to established Premier League and European contenders. 

Since securing their first-ever promotion to the top flight in 2017, however, Brighton have also made plenty of mistakes in the transfer market, particularly during the early years of their Premier League adventure. 

Most of the following deals came during that period, when the club was still learning which players could make the step up, although one more recent big-money signing shows that even Brighton's recruitment model can occasionally get it wrong.

5. Georginio Rutter

Georginio Rutter became Brighton's club-record signing in August 2024 when the Seagulls paid Leeds United a reported £40m for the French forward, who had produced 24 goal involvements in just over a season and a half at Elland Road.

Brighton were therefore expecting one of the Championship's most exciting attacking players to make a smooth transition to the Premier League, but Rutter's time on the south coast has so far failed to match those expectations.

The Frenchman managed a respectable five goals and four assists during his first season, although his output dropped considerably in 2025-26, when reported concerns over his role under Fabian Hurzeler added to the sense that the move had not worked as planned.

Speculation over a return to Leeds gathered momentum during the summer of 2026, but no deal materialised, leaving Rutter to fight for his place at the Amex and prove that Brighton's record investment can still be justified.

With a club-record fee comes increased scrutiny, and Rutter's modest returns so far make him an obvious candidate for this list, even if there is still time for him to change the narrative.

4. Bernardo

Bernardo arrived from RB Leipzig in July 2018 with an impressive CV for a player who had yet to turn 23, having already featured regularly in the Bundesliga as well as the Champions League and Europa League.

Brighton paid a reported £9m for the versatile full-back, but his German experience never translated into a significant role on the south coast as he struggled to establish himself under Chris Hughton and Graham Potter.

Bernardo managed just 39 appearances in the Premier League, providing only one assist and no goal during his three seasons at the club, with his opportunities becoming increasingly limited before he returned to the Red Bull group on loan at Salzburg in January 2021.

That move was made permanent later that year, bringing an underwhelming end to a £9m investment that ultimately produced little more than occasional squad appearances.

3. Florin Andone

Florin Andone joined Brighton from relegated Deportivo La Coruna for around £5m in the summer of 2018, having produced a respectable scoring record in Spain and offering Chris Hughton another option to improve an attack that had struggled in the Premier League.

The Romanian forward managed four goals in his 26 appearances for Brighton in the English top flight and six in 30 across all competitions, although his disciplinary problems ultimately became more memorable than his contribution in front of goal.

Andone received a three-match ban for deliberately elbowing West Bromwich Albion's Sam Field in an FA Cup tie before being sent off just three games into Graham Potter's reign for a reckless challenge on Southampton's Yan Valery.

There was also an off-field altercation with teammate Bernardo before that Southampton match, which ended in a 2-0 defeat and proved to be Andone's final appearance for Brighton.

2. Alireza Jahanbakhsh

Alireza Jahanbakhsh arrived from AZ Alkmaar in the summer of 2018 as Brighton's new club-record signing, costing a reported £17m after finishing the previous Eredivisie season as the division's top scorer.

The Iranian had scored 21 goals and supplied 12 assists in 2017-18, becoming the first Asian player to finish as the leading scorer in a major European league, so expectations were understandably high when he moved to England.

However, none of that form followed him to the Premier League, with Jahanbakhsh failing to score in 19 league appearances during his debut campaign as he struggled to adapt to the pace and physical demands of English football.

Injuries then disrupted his progress, while his opportunities remained limited, turning what was supposed to be a marquee attacking signing into one of Brighton's more disappointing investments.

Jahanbakhsh eventually departed after making only a contribution of two goals in 50 Premier League appearances, leaving behind a club-record fee that never came close to being justified by his performances.

1. Jurgen Locadia

Jurgen Locadia's £14.1m move from PSV Eindhoven in January 2018 made him Brighton's most expensive signing at the time, with Chris Hughton hoping the Dutch striker could solve an attack that was struggling for goals.

Locadia arrived with a proven scoring pedigree, having netted 62 goals in 176 appearances for PSV, but his record in the Netherlands failed to translate to the Premier League.

The striker managed just six goals and three assists in 46 appearances for Brighton, with his time at the club remembered almost as much for missed chances as for the goals he did score.

One particularly glaring close-range miss became a widely shared image among Brighton supporters, while Locadia himself admitted early in his spell that heading was not one of his strengths, an awkward admission for a striker signed to lead the line.

He eventually left for Hoffenheim on loan before moving permanently to FC Cincinnati and continuing his career elsewhere, but his Brighton spell remains the clearest example of a major investment failing to deliver.

For a club-record signing who was brought in specifically to solve a major problem and finished with only six goals, Locadia's £14.1m move remains Brighton's worst Premier League transfer of all time.