Brighton & Hove Albion and their recruitment of new players has become famed over the last few years, with the likes of Moises Caicedo, Kaoru Mitoma and Evan Ferguson all joining for a pittance before going on to perform wonders in the Premier League.
The secret sauce to their recruitment is Brighton & Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom’s algorithm, which identifies personnel from around the globe who fit the needs of Brighton’s machine. The modelling is so widely coveted that the vast majority of the club’s own staff don’t have a working knowledge of it, nor access to the clandestine spreadsheet that lists the desired replacements for key individuals.
Bloom is a stellar mathematician, and his philosophy follows the same formula that earned him his fortune as a professional gambler: picking out previously undervalued metrics which reveal the crucial ingredients that make clubs – and particular players or coaches – successful.
That means Brighton’s recruitment team can spot emerging talent earlier than most rivals. Sometimes it leads them to markets very few know at all.
The numbers don’t dictate signings; rather, they point the Seagulls in the right direction, so they can take a closer look at players who fit the right profile. Getting eyes on prospects is as important as it’s ever been, but the data helps to refine those player safaris so that scouting missions to far-flung locations are more likely to bear fruit.
“A lot of work goes into that process of looking at players all over the world,” Brighton chief executive Paul Barber tells FourFourTwo . “There are different leads, different clubs and different levels. The more data there is when it comes to recruiting that player or coach, the better, but there are certain markets around the world where the data is thinner than others.
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"The data will be thinner in places where, for example, players have a longer education or don’t feature in as many league games. When we’re looking at players from those areas, we combine our research to make sure we’ve got plenty of eyes on scouting and character referencing, to build up a picture as best we can.”
“We try to have players through our door before we need them. In an ideal world, you don’t want to be targeting a particular player right after you’ve sold one in his position, because everybody knows you’ve got money, and that you’re going to be a little bit keener to sign that player than if you’ve already got someone in that position in your building.”
Brighton exemplified that recruitment tactic with the signing of Moises Caicedo in 2021. With Yves Bissouma a standout player under former manager Graham Potter, the Seagulls sought his replacement in Caicedo, knowing full well that Bissouma would eventually be sold if his high performance levels continued.
A year later, that duly happened, when Tottenham Hotspur bought him. Brighton were unfazed, though, with Caicedo slotting straight into the first team. In fact, the tactic worked so well that just two seasons after buying the Ecuadorian for £4.5m, Brighton sold him to Chelsea for a whopping £115m.
More Brighton & Hove Albion stories
Brighton's scouting network is one of the best in the world, as technical director David Weir explains to FFT.
Paul Barber believes there is no limit on Brighton's potential to mix it with the very best sides in Europe.
How Brighton convinced Evan Ferguson to sign for them rather than his boyhood club Manchester United.
