At this point, Brighton and Hove Albion have earned themselves the benefit of the doubt.
Not every signing has worked for The Seagulls. There is the odd miss floating in an otherwise deep sea of hits.
But a club who brought in Pascal Gross, Moises Caicedo, Kaoru Mitoma Pervis Estupinan, Evan Ferguson, Alexis Mac Allister and many more proved long ago that, when it comes to unearthing and polishing rough diamonds, they are masters of their craft.
Yankuba Minteh, the teenager winger snapped up from Newcastle United after a superb spell at Feyenoord, was very much a trademark Brighton bit of business. As was the deal that reunites with speedy Gambian with Mats Wieffer.
Ibrahim Osman and Malick Junior Yalcouye, meanwhile, arrive from Scandinavian football in the hope of following in the footsteps of those who came before them at The Amex.
Brajan Gruda, another typical Seagulls signing, will be the next new face in the building.
Brighton and Hove Albion to sign Mainz ace Brajan Gruda
HITC reported on Tuesday that Brighton had agreed a fee of just shy of £26 million for the Mainz whizzkid. New head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who arrived from St Pauli to replace Roberto de Zerbi, has pushed keenly for Gruda’s arrival.
Now, it appears that he will get his wish.
Because, speaking to Sky Germany, Mainz’s sporting director has now confirmed that there is a very good chance Gruda becomes a Brighton player. Possibly before Saturday’s Premier League opener at Everton.
“As things stand, the transfer is not complete because nothing has been signed yet,” Christian Heidel begins before adopting a far more positive stance.
Or a negative one, depending on whether you’re a fan of Brighton or Mainz.
“But the probability that the transfer will go ahead is very high,” Heidel confirms. “The talks have been going on for ten days.”
Gruda had been mentioned in the £40 million mark earlier in the window. The deal that takes him to Brighton will end up being a lot less than that, though the existence of such rumours speaks volumes about how highly the 20-year-old is regarded in his home country.
“I never said that Brajan would cost 50 million euros,” Heidel adds. “But I was quite happy that the figure was being discussed.”
Hailed by Bayern Munich legend Thomas Muller
Rapid, versatile and devilishly direct, Gruda scored four goals and set up three more during an impressive breakout campaign in the Bundesliga.
He found the net and assisted another during the 3-1 final day victory over Wolfsburg which confirmed Mainz’s survival, Gruda often saving his most effective displays for the big occasions.
There might even have been a place for him in Germany’s Euro 2024 squad, too. Gruda was called up for the initial training camp but had to depart after suffering a calf injury.
“When you watch him, you see that he has something special,” Germany and Bayern Munich icon Thomas Muller tells BuliNews, having made a show of swapping shirts with the youngster at the end of a Bundesliga meeting.
“It‘s about consistency for him now. That‘s why I got his jersey back then and made it public. I thought he was remarkably good.”
“He is a very creative player in the final third and has a good technique,” explains Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann. “Gruda has a great left foot and I hope to see a lot of him in the coming training sessions.
“He doesn’t need to hide from anyone.“
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