Brighton & Hove Albion

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Football finance expert Kieran Maguire says Brighton chairman and owner Tony Bloom went "all in" during the recent transfer window, with the Seagulls spending anout £200m on incomings for the 2024-25 campaign.

"I think you have got to take the figures quoted in the media with a slight pinch of salt," he told the Albion Unlimited podcast. "As you would expect from a club owned by a poker wizard, Brighton keep their cards close to their chest.

"The rough consensus is around £196m [was spent] and the club could have potentially gone higher, as there were rumours about another deal going through just before the window closed.

"If you take a look at the club's previous transfer windows, since moving to the Premier League their spending has usually been in the region of £60-70m per year - recruiting, refreshing and upgrading in places.

"This is Tony Bloom going all in. He feels that it is the right point in time for the club. He has clearly embraced Europe and we got to see the way he was celebrating last season."

Among a large cluster of new signings were club record £40m signing Georginio Rutter from Leeds, £30m Yankuba Minteh from Newcastle and £25m Matt O'Riley from Celtic.

Maguire believes Bloom has sensed an opportunity for Brighton to nudge ahead of their rivals in the clamour for European football.

"There is also a group of clubs that have financial constraints, which don't exist at Brighton because they haven't been run in a prudent manner historically," he said. "So perhaps Tony Bloom feels now is the time to take advantage of other team's weaknesses.

"Newcastle United had to sell somebody. Leeds United had signed players in the Premier League but they had clauses which allowed them to leave. This is a function of modern football and Brighton played their cards at the right time.

"Things like this make you really proud to be a Brighton fan - to know that you are associated with people who have realised that they can't be bigger, so let's be smarter."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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It was fascinating to listen to Tony Bloom's chat with BBC Radio Sussex's Johnny Cantor on BBC Sounds.

Brighton have spent big this summer, £194m, which is the second highest behind Chelsea in the Premier League.

And while Bloom said he does not expect that to be repeated in the near future when some of the club's promising young players are expected to emerge, that outlay does come with increased expectation and scrutiny.

Bloom said he feels European qualification is a definite possibility given the seven clubs participating in expanded tournaments this season will have even more juggling to do, and obviously there are the domestic cups.

He also refused to back down from a belief Brighton's women's team can achieve top-four status, although Bloom acknowledged it is taking longer than envisaged due to the emergence of Manchester United.

Bloom has achieved so much as Brighton owner but it does not look as though he is ready to ease off just yet. His aims are as lofty as they have ever been.

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Brighton owner Tony Bloom spoke to the Albion Unlimited podcast about Brighton's busy summer transfer window:

"At the start of the window, we knew there was going to be quite a few incomings and changes. We probably didn't envisage quite as much, but I think the circumstances have allowed for this this. Some of the players who perhaps weren't available to us in the past became available.

"In the past two or three years, we may have lost some key players and not been able to replace them straight away, but this season we've managed to bring in lots of first-team players and invested in young players.

"We probably won't see something like this in the next two or three windows. If we lose key players in the future, hopefully we will have younger players coming through who have a great chance of making the first team."

Listen to the full interview with Bloom and more on BBC Sounds

BBC Radio Sussex are talking all things Brighton in the Premier League on Albion Unlimited.

Johnny Cantor is joined by Seagulls owner Tony Bloom to talk about the start of the season, new boss Fabian Hurzeler, a record-breaking transfer window and the targets for this season.

You don't want to miss it!

Listen to the podcast here

Scott McCarthy
Fan writer

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The fallout from Declan Rice getting sent off for Arsenal against Brighton has been going on longer than the queue for Oasis tickets.

And just like the sale process that has caused such controversy, everyone has an opinion on whether Rice should or should not have seen red.

Less talked about has been the clever role Joel Veltman played in it all. Veltman is a tactically astute, suave and sophisticated footballer. I would go as far as to say he is arguably the most intelligent I have seen play for the Albion.

Premier League clubs, managers and players were all told in the summer there would be a crackdown on kicking the ball away and delaying restarts this season, punished by a yellow card.

Rice knows this. Hence while Arsenal fans and Mikel Arteta were spitting feathers, he accepted he was wrong by the letter of the law. If only everyone else involved with the Gunners could be so level-headed.

More importantly, Veltman knew it too. Watch the incident again and you will see he has the awareness to put the ball down next to Rice, laying the bait for the England midfielder to place himself at risk of a second yellow card by knocking it away.

Rice fell perfectly into the trap. Arsenal were left playing for 41 minutes with only 10 men. Brighton took full advantage by finding an equaliser. On another day, the Albion might have even left with all three points.

Not many players would have listened to PGMOL saying an area of the game would be more heavily policed, taken it on board and then contrived a way to turn it into an advantage away from home at one of the toughest venues to visit in the Premier League.

Class from Veltman - unlike the sale for Oasis tickets.

Find more from Scott McCarthy at We Are Brighton, external

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Arsenal and Brighton.

Here are some of your comments:

Arsenal fans

Rachel: I have felt disgruntled and angry for the rest of the weekend, Yet again, the officials are the stars of the show. I didn't see our best football and am unsure why we aren't firing on all cylinders. Martin Odegaard as the captain needs to be more positive in his attitude as well as his performance. We really need to step up next time. There's a long way to go.

GM: Arsenal are working hard to self-destruct. Declan Rice ought to know the basic rules at this level. They should blame themselves and not the application of the rules.

David: This was a travesty. Declan Rice kicks a ball a few inches and gets a second yellow while Joel Veltman plays the referee by pretending to pass to a Brighton player and instead kicks Rice, which should have been a straight red. What’s more, Joao Pedro kicked the ball 30 yards to slow the game down and got nothing!

Pheonix: Tepid display at the very least...everyone knows we needed a striker. How Mikel Arteta and Edu contrived not to give us one is a mystery. Teams are finding us out because we don't have a striker who takes the chances we create. Thomas Partey is responsible for making Rice get the first yellow card - from them on he was walking on thin ice.

Brighton fans

Mick: A decent performance after a horrible first 15 mins. Jack Hinshelwood is not a left-back and it showed early on. The sending off had a big impact but Brighton were growing into the game at that point. Yankuba Minteh is getting better, Kaoru Mitoma is beginning to get his form back with Joao Pedro and Carlos Baleba superb again and a mention for Yasin Ayari who played well. Could have won it at the end.

Phillip: The performance was hinged around the red card as before, we were struggling but as soon as the sending off happened, we dominated. I cannot understand all the upset around the second booking as any player on a yellow card should remember the rules about deliberate time-wasting and accept the consequences. Good point earned.

Charlie: In the first half we played well defensively but were dominated for most of the half. In the second, however, I think we outplayed Arsenal. We pressured them well and Bart Verbruggen was our saving grace at points. Both teams had their fair share of good chances. A good performance and getting a point was solid against one of the best teams in the world.

Jonty: We looked lost once Arsenal settled into a low block. I can't imagine we spent much time this week working on breaking down a team sitting deep though. Still delighted with a point away at the Emirates.

Watch all the highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League fixtures with Gary and the team.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Leicester 1-2 Aston Villa

• West Ham 1-3 Man City

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Yankuba Minteh on today's 1-1 draw at Emirates Stadium: "I feel like we should win the game because we created a lot of chances in the second half. The first half was 50/50 but the second half was in our hands.

"But we have one point here which is not bad so a good game. We tried to stay in the game because Arsenal is a big team and really good team with good players.

"I feel like we can create more opportunities. It's not easy, sometime you have tough opponents. We tried t stay in the game and then create chances."

On Brighton's start to the season: "It's a good start for everybody because we won in the cup also and the way we start in the Premier League it is really good because we are still unbeaten. I think the team is really good because we stay compact together."

Albion's Yasin Ayari: "We are still unbeaten. We played against a very good team today but we are still unbeaten. Of course we wanted to get the three points, especially when they got the red card in the second half.

"I just think we need to be more better in the last pass, the last shot. But, we're still unbeaten and we should be happy with the one point."

Listen to more post-match reaction on the Albion Unlimited interview feed on BBC Sounds

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Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, speaking to MOTD: "In the end you are one man plus so you always want to win the game. We had chances on our side but Arsenal also had two big chances."

Thoughts on sending off: "First of all he shoots the ball away so it is a clear yellow card, it changes the momentum of the game.

"We started to control the game and then the goal happens out of nowhere. We didn't defend it well, the red card changed the game for sure. We wanted to win, we didn't do it so we have to be satisfied with the draw.

"There's still room for a lot of improvements. We try and go step-by-step."

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Brighton have remained unbeaten in their opening three games of a top-flight season for just a second time, previously doing so in 2022-23 (W2 D1 on both occasions).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

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Come back to this page on Sunday evening to find a selection of your replies

Follow reaction and read the match report

There are seven Premier League games this Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action and reaction throughout the day.

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Follow all the action and reaction here

BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries:

• Leicester v Aston Villa

• West Ham v Man City

Brighton had the highest net spend in the Premier League - £153.6m from an outlay of £195.7m.

They paid a club record £39.9m for Leeds' Georginio Rutter, £29.9m for Newcastle's Yankuba Minteh, and more than £25m for each of Ferdi Kadioglu, Brajan Gruda, Mats Wieffer and Ibrahim Osman.

Selling Billy Gilmour for £12m on deadline day, as well as Denis Undav for £22m earlier in the window, brought some money in.

See our comprehensive round-up of the summer transfer window

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches this season, against a variety of guests.

For week three, he takes on MOBO Award-winning drum & bass legend and producer Adam F.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Arsenal, their win at Villa last week was a bit of a statement because last season Aston Villa did the double over them.

Two teams with a 100% record. Brighton have got off to a flyer under Fabian Hurzeler and they are very expensive in the way they play, they are brave, they back themselves.

But it's Arsenal, at home, at the Emirates, I think they will win this one.

Adam F's prediction: 2-1

Arsenal should take this one.

Read the full predictions and have your say

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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Billy Gilmour's on-off move to Napoli is back on.

The Brighton midfielder has been a long-term target for the Italian club.

However, Brighton were resistant to letting Gilmour leave and that attitude hardened after new signing Matt O'Riley suffered a serious ankle injury during the midweek Carabao Cup win over Crawley that requires surgery.

Napoli were insistent they still wanted the Scotland international though and Albion have eventually relented.

Although the deal is not completed yet, sources on both sides believe it is more likely to happen than not.

Gilmour remains a popular figure at Amex Stadium and Brighton believe it would be difficult to keep the 23-year-old happy, given he was probably not going to be a regular starter under new boss Fabian Hurzeler.

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Defender Odel Offiah has completed a season-long loan move to League One club Blackpool.

The 21-year-old's first Premier League appearance came as a substitute against Nottingham Forest in April 2023 and he has played 10 times for the senior side across all competitions.

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said: "Odel has had some Premier League experience, and this is an opportunity for him to play regularly and continue his development at a good level."

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German midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud, 28, has moved from Brighton to Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt on a permanent deal for undisclosed terms.

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler said: "This is an opportunity for Mo to play again in the Bundesliga, an environment he knows well from his time with Dortmund and Stuttgart.

"We wish him all the best for his future and thank him for his efforts during his time with the club."

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BBC Sport's chief football news reporter Simon Stone, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about Brighton's transfer plans before the deadline:

"They were negotiating with a team in Denmark for a teenage striker called Conrad Harder. They will have to pay a lot of money for him.

"Scotland midfielder Billy Gilmour is someone else Napoli are trying to sign. Last time I spoke to Brighton, they were still negotiating."

Stay up to date with the latest on deadline day

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Brighton winger Jeremy Sarmiento has joined Burnley on a season-long loan.

Sarimento, 22, joined the Seagulls from Benfica in July 2021 and spent the second half of last season at promotion-winning Ipswich Town.

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler said: "Jeremy has worked hard across pre-season and done very well in the games he’s played for us, including at Everton and against Crawley this week.

"His attitude has been first class and this will benefit him for the season ahead with Burnley, which we will be watching with great interest."