Xabi Alonso handed "complete" striker after Brighton hit by transfer crackdown
Brighton were blocked from signing red-hot striker Victor Boniface this summer after UEFA banned them from completing further transfer dealings with sister club Union Saint-Gilloise.
The 22-year-old frontman has just been named the Bundesliga Player of the Month following a blistering start to his Bayer Leverkusen career after netting eight goals in his opening seven outings under Xabi Alonso prior to this weekend's action.
Leverkusen signed Boniface for just £16million from Union, who were previously owned by Albion chairman Tony Bloom prior to this summer. Bloom has since relinquished his majority stake in the Belgian side in July after Brighton secured qualification for the Europa League last season.
The move was made to reaffirm that USG remained a separate entity from Brighton following communication that UEFA were prepared to investigate the relationship between the two clubs, who are now competing in the same competition.
It meant the Seagulls were also banned from signing Union players having previously made the most of their bond with their Belgian counterparts, cherry-picking a host of their top talents including the Kaoru Mitoma, Deniz Undav and Simon Adingra.
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Intriguingly, Brighton were in the market for a new striker earlier this summer - landing Joao Pedro from Watford in a club-record £30m deal for Roberto De Zerbi. However, the Seagulls were forced to swerve a deal for Boniface after he netted 22 goals and registered 12 assists in all competitions at club level last season.
It's the kind of form that would have ensured he was under consideration at the Amex in the summer transfer window - had it not been for the ban implemented by UEFA.
Now a cluster of Premier League clubs will be paying close attention to Boniface's dramatic rise to stardom in Germany. He looks poised to net Leverkusen another substantial payday in the future although the Nigerian will be in no rush to depart Alonso's side as they continue to make huge strides under their highly-coveted head coach.
Alonso recently paid tribute to his outstanding centre-forward, who looks set to rival Harry Kane and Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy for the Bundesliga Golden Boot this season.
"He's not just a classic striker, not just a bomber - he's complete," said Alonso after Boniface netted a brace against newly-promoted Darmstadt. "We are happy with him, he has scored four goals so far, but we expect more."
Brighton could have had first dibs on the signing of Victor Boniface (Christopher Neundorf/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Speaking to German magazine Kicker, former Belgium boss Marc Wilmots claimed he immediately noticed Boniface had all the tools to become a hit in the Premier League when he saw the striker in action with Union.
He said: “I saw Boniface live 10 times in Belgium and immediately said: What kind of striker is that? He has everything. I quickly said that he is the best striker in the Belgian league and can move to Germany or even England. Leverkusen will have a lot of fun with him.
"If he increases his quota and scores 15 to 20 goals - he has the opportunity to play for a top club in the Premier League. His goal must be to move to one of the top six there in two or three years.”
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