£35M sounds about right given the club statement says it’s amongst the highest EFL transfers of all time. I’d hazard a guess at £22m-£25m up front maybe
I think not, actually; the original deal had addons for future transfers, but when they ran into financial difficulty we re-negotiated and I believe we gave them a chunk of change in exchange for them waiving all future fees. That's based off memory so take with a pinch of salt.
He was not going to stay at Watford forever and has been sold at his premium value. I much prefer seeing players leave for £30 million then come in for this fee. The Sarr transfer, whether coincidental on timing or not is the epitomy of our misery of late. I still don’t see the logic that we could have made any money on such a big investment, Richarlison being the anomaly but with half the risk. That being said, I really like Pedro and believe he will turn into a very decent player beyond Brightons current high flying status.
Fascinated to see what he's like when he's surrounded by competent players in a team that attacks with multiple players rather than seeing the big static turd Davis just staring at him and Sarr hiding somewhere near the touchline desperately hoping no-one passes the ball to him.
Till people realise next to nothing of this fee will be used to reinvest back in the squad. Good luck to Joao.
Once we get the Kayembe deal through and sell Sarr to Udinese we have loads of money to reinvest in the squad
Our one good player gone, predictable and inevitable, but still depressing. Wish him all the best. Brighton is a good fit for him. Shame we have made 4 years of bad decisions compared to the opposite at Brighton, or we could be the ones in the Prem buying their talent.
Yep. Add that to the financing of our income for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons should give us a nice little war chest.
I mean, if you want to buy the club and plough in 400m of your own money, go right ahead! I'm sure we won't stop you.
On the radio on the way home it said just under £30 mil plus add ons. According to @brfootball its actually a club record £38 mil but doesnt give a breakdown or any details.
Transfer money will be used to help pay off a small part of our massive debts. Doubtful it will be used for any incoming transfer deals. Good luck to Joao. Always had a smile on his face.
Absolutely bizarre based on the below wording that anyone thinks it’s more than £30m, ‘undisclosed’ fee and ‘amongst the very highest fees in EFL history’ but not actually the highest fee, and that’s actually from the club itself? LOL.
Well the highest fee is Ake at £40m. And no matter how you slice it it isn’t that much. After that there is a cluster of fees around £30m and Pickford, Watkins and Sissoko (in 16/17) are in that category and Pedro is too. Given the jump to Ake we are unlikely to reach that even with the add ons. I think just under £30m guaranteed with add ons reaching up to £35m sounds about right and aligns with and makes consistent various different reports.
I fully agree with you, I just think it’s extremely bizarre that when there are multiple reports saying it’s more than £20m but not giving a specific fee, suggesting it won’t be more than £30m is seen as somehow being incorrect. And that’s after the club bury the fee as ‘undisclosed’ if it was a record championship fee then they would’ve been shouting it from the rooftops, wouldn’t they?
It was never going to be a championship record fee given Ake’s fee though. I think they’re trying to communicate that they sold early and sold high. No real issue with it. Think the more than £20m is a function of it being Brighton’s record. French has just confirmed that it was just shy of £30m rising to £35m with add ons.
What is point of going undisclosed and then immediately telling French? They don’t want the add on details to be known? If so seems pointless secrecy as usual.
I think he'll last a year or 2 at Brighton then move to a huge team. He's had a decent, albeit somewhat underwhelming at times season, but that's pretty much to be expected considering the constant upheaval of managers and dross he has to play with here. Brighton are a stable club, that know how they want their team to play regardless of who the manager is and I think that sort of environment will do wonders for him. One of my biggest criticisms of JP is he hasn't been able to make a position "his own" - we've plugged him in as a striker, winger, attacking mid and even a CM at times with varying results. If he can slot in at Brighton and make one position his own and do well in said position then the sky's the limit for him as he has everything needed to be a player for a top 4 team - just needs a bit of consistency.
I think in a better side, that’ll be an asset. He’ll be available to managers as they make tactical tweaks. I think about how Pep has played around with the roles of Foden, Gundogan, De Bruyne and Walker over the years. To someone like Pep or De Zerbi, Pedro’s versatility is an opportunity. It will also be crucial to him as he breaks through there. He isn’t a guaranteed starter by any means but there are three or four positions where he’s the first choice replacement.
