The move of Graham Potter to Brighton and Hove Albion is a distinct possibility this summer, according to The Guardian.
They report that the Seagulls are considering switching their focus to their former manager, after Roberto De Zerbi left his post at the end of the latest Premier League season. This comes after another of their managerial targets, Kieran McKenna, apparently snubbed them in favour of an extended stay at Ipswich, just months after ending their 22-year wait for PL football.
With Potter now odds-on favourite with bookmakers to make a sensational return to the Amex Stadium, we speculate over which players he could potentially bring with him to the south coast…
Potter to Brighton: Who could he sign?
Strahinja Pavlovic
Pavlovic is a player that Brighton were linked with in the January transfer window, and is someone who can help improve their somewhat leaky defence. The RB Salzburg central defender helped his team concede the second-fewest number of goals in the Austrian Bundesliga this season (29), and at 1.94m tall, he could certainly cope with the physical demands of the Premier League.
Brighton ended up conceding a total of 62 goals in the top flight, which contributed to them disappointingly finishing in the bottom half of the table. Pavlovic could end up coming in and instantly improving that poor record, and he will be one to watch out for among Seagulls fans at Euro 2024, as we expect him to start for Serbia against England in the Three Lions' opening group stage game in Germany.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Dewsbury-Hall was reportedly close to a £25m move to Brighton in January, and is another player who we could see make a switch to the south coast. Leicester City have had well-documented financial problems, as they are currently awaiting a verdict for breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR), meaning they could be facing a potentially hefty points deduction for the start of the new Premier League campaign.
The Foxes may have to cash in on their prime assets, and one of them is certainly Dewsbury-Hall. The central midfielder was key in Leicester winning the Championship for an immediate PL return, as he scored 12 goals and provided a further 14 assists in 44 games.
Matt O'Riley
O'Riley is another central midfielder that has been linked with a £25m switch to the Seagulls in the past, and could provide an alternative solution to Dewsbury-Hall, should the Leicester star become unattainable. Indeed, he helped Celtic win the domestic double in Scotland this season, and seems ripe for a move south of the border.
The likes of Virgil van Dijk and John McGinn have done so in the past and impressed, and O'Riley could do the same. Indeed, he scored a stunning 19 goals and made a further 18 assists in 49 appearances in total over all competitions from the middle of the park.
At just 23 years of age, O'Riley still has years ahead of him too, and could well turn out to be a mainstay in Brighton's midfield should they sign him this summer.
David Datro Fofana
Fofana is a player that Potter signed during his tenure at Chelsea, but the striker has never been able to cement a regular place at Stamford Bridge. Indeed, he has been loaned out to both Union Berlin and Burnley, and perhaps needs a new permanent home, especially with Chelsea still being linked to the likes of Dusan Vlahovic.
Fofana was promising as a teenager emerging in Norwegian football, netting 24 goals and supplying a further 10 assists in 65 appearances for Molde across all competitions. However, he wouldn't turn out to be a successful Eliteserien import like former Blues striker Tore Andre Flo, and has struggled to reach anywhere near those numbers at Chelsea.
Familiarity with Fofana aside, Graham Potter will no doubt appreciate that those numbers are mitigated by very little game time. Indeed, the 21-year-old was one of very few bright sparks for relegated Burnley in 2023/24, managing four goals in 15 PL matches under dire circumstances.
