10 January 2024 , 00:47
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Brighton are set to sign Valentin Barco from Boca Juniors after beating a host of rival clubs to the highly-rated youngster.
Barco has been scouted by several top European sides, including Manchester City, but the Seagulls are understood to have won the race for his signature. The 19-year-old is poised to sign a four-and-a-half-year contract, with the option of a further 12 months, after Brighton agreed to pay his $10million (£7.8m) release clause.
The left-back, who can also play as a winger, is currently away on international duty with the Argentina under-23 side. He will undergo a medical there before finalising the transfer in the coming days.
His signing fits a pattern for Brighton, who have focused on signing highly-rated young players from South America. They signed Facundo Buonanotte from Rosario Central last January for £5.3m, Julio Enciso for £9.5m in July 2022 from Paraguayan club Libertad Asuncion, as well as Moises Caicedo for £4.5m from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in February 2021 and Alexis Mac Allister from Argentinos Juniors in January 2019.
Brighton beat Manchester United to Caicedo, who they sold to Chelsea for £115m last summer. And they have now beaten Man City to Barco, who has only made 23 senior appearances for Boca.
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Despite his lack of senior experience, he is known to many football fans due to his potential on Football Manager, where he is one of the most bought stars in the game. Roberto De Zerbi’s side got in there before his release clause was due to increase from $10m (£7.8m) to $14m (£11m) this week.
Explaining Brighton’s recruitment strategy to The Athletic in 2021, Brighton’s former director of football Dan Ashworth said: “I’d say two-thirds of the Premier League would be able to outbid us from a transfer fee and wages point of view. Our recruitment strategy has got to be a bit different. If we go fishing in the same pond as them, we may not get the player we want.
Valentin Barco is a wonderkid on Football Manager (Daniel Jayo/Getty Images)“Hence, we’ve tended to either go to a different market or buying potential rather than performance. The danger of that is you are buying potential, so you don’t quite know; they don’t always come to what you’d hope they’d be.”
Brighton’s approach stems from owner-chairman Tony Bloom, who has a background in betting and poker. The club is a client of Bloom’s company, Starlizard, and use data to support their recruitment programme. “I wouldn’t describe what they’re doing as revolutionary, but they’re attacking new, emerging markets,” a club source told The Athletic in April.
“We know the players before they sign them but they are in a position where they can offer a gradual integration into the Premier League, whereas at the bigger clubs, players need to be able to hit the ground running and perform at an elite level straightaway.”