Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler says he is ‘not afraid’ about losing his most important players as the club have repeatedly proven they are able to survive and ‘find solutions’.
The Seagulls’ recruitment model – selling on previously undervalued young talent for huge profit – has seen the likes of Alexis Mac Allister, Moises Caicedo, Marc Cucurella, Yves Bissouma and Leandro Trossard all leave for big money in recent years.
Joao Pedro became the latest in a long line of high-profile departures at Brighton when he left the Amex Stadium to join Chelsea in an agreement worth up to £60million last month.
While Brighton have made sure to strengthen Hurzeler’s squad with six new signings across a busy summer transfer window, there is mounting speculation that another of their top stars, Carlos Baleba, could be set for the exit door.
Baleba has emerged as a top target for Manchester United, with the Old Trafford giants keen for midfield reinforcements having bolstered Ruben Amorim’s attack with the addition of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.
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And while Brighton reportedly rejected United’s player-plus-cash offer for Baleba out of hand, the Red Devils could be set to return with a follow-up bid for the 21-year-old Cameroon international in due course.
It’s understood the south coast outfit are demanding an eye-watering fee in excess of £100m for the sought-after youngster.
‘No chance. I don’t feel fear,’ Hurzeler told the BBC when asked if he was worried about Brighton selling key figures within his squad.
‘I’m not afraid of anything because the only thing we can do is be the best version we can be every day, like work as hard as we can.
‘All the other things we can’t influence, so we really have to focus on us.
‘For sure, we can’t spend the money like the big teams but one of our biggest values is togetherness. And if you stay together, if we try to push our limits and increase the boundaries, then I’m sure we can compete with the big teams.’
While Hurzeler admits Brighton have lost an ‘unbelievable player’ in Pedro, he is confident the club can continue to be ‘very competitive’ on the back of their eighth-placed finish last season.
‘It’s not easy, but we proved last season that we are a very competitive team,’ the German added.
‘Without Joao Pedro, for sure, he was an unbelievable player. But we can’t replace him with one player, but we can replace him as a team. And that’s our focus.’
Hurzeler has been encouraged by the ‘team chemistry’ and ‘togetherness’ he has seen amongst his players on the training ground ahead of the new season.
‘We as a club always find solutions and I’m sure in the future we will find solutions. That’s our model, we have to accept it,’ the Brighton boss continued.
‘I think that as a club we have proved we are not only selling big players. We have had offers for other players – big offers for [Kaoru] Mitoma and other players. We proved that we are not selling every player.
‘Of course there were some big players who left the club, but there are new players that are coming into the club.
‘With the togetherness we have, with the team chemistry we have, we can compete with the big teams, and we can compete with teams who might be individually better than us.’
At a fan forum last week, Brighton CEO Paul Barber insisted he had not spoken to United over Baleba, but was unable to provide any assurances over the midfielder’s future.
‘There’s always going to be interest in our players,’ he said.
‘Manchester United have not been in touch with me. Speculation is speculation.”
‘Carlos is a fantastic talent. We hope he’ll be here for years to come – but its subject to the dynamics of the football world, which isn’t always predictable.’
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