Brighton make shock move after £200m spend and Newcastle United transfer

The Seagulls have enjoyed a good start to the season under new boss Fabian Hurzeler after spending around £200m on transfers during the summer window. However, according to the Telegraph, the club have ‘let go of the majority’ of their full-time recruitment staff’ in a major shake up of their recruitment and scouting department.

Brighton currently sit 6th in the Premier League table and are just one point behind third-placed Chelsea, such is the congested nature of the division at present. Yankuba Minteh was one of their most noteworthy purchases in the summer as they parted with a fee that could rise to £33m to sign him from Newcastle United.

Minteh’s sale to Brighton was forced by the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules with Newcastle United facing a potential points deduction had Minteh and Elliot Anderson not been sold to the Seagulls and Nottingham Forest in the final hours of June. Minteh has one goal and one assist in eight games in all competitions for his new side.

Brighton have a record of being one of the world’s best operators in the transfer market in recent times, making sizeable profits from player sales whilst also being able to maintain their position as a top-half Premier League club. Much of that is down to a secretive data model the club uses to sign players - one that may become even more important to the club following news of this restructuring.