Brighton boss Graham Potter outlines striker transfer plan for January and trusts Tony Bloom to deliver

Brighton and Hove Albion have already been linked with strikers and numerous players as the January transfer window fast approaches
Brighton have spent £140m on new arrivals since Graham Potter joined in 2019Brighton have spent £140m on new arrivals since Graham Potter joined in 2019
Brighton have spent £140m on new arrivals since Graham Potter joined in 2019

Brighton have enjoyed a solid start to the Premier League season and are 11th on 20 points from their first 15 matches as they prepare to face ninth placed Wolves at the Amex on Wednesday.

The Seagulls have played some attractive football but scoring has been a problem. Graham Potter' s men have netted 14 times so far with only Wolves (12) and basement club Norwich (eight) netting fewer in the top flight so far.

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Neal Maupay is Brighton's leading scorer with six goals and Leo Trossard has chipped in with three. Experienced front runner Danny Welbeck has been hindered with a hamstring problem and has scored just once this campaign.

Ireland international Aaron Connolly has struggled for form and fitness and Jurgen Locadia has featured just once in the dying minutes of a 0-0 stalemate with Leeds.

Welbeck is expected to return in the new year but Albion fans are keen to bring in a striker to help ease the burden on Maupay - who has scored twice in his last two matches against Southampton and West Ham.

The Seagulls have been linked with a £20m move Blackburn's Ben Brereton Diaz, while Liverpool's Divock Origi is a name that often crops up on the fans' wish list.

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The issue of signing a striker is nothing new for Potter and the Brighton manager is well practiced in fielding questions on striking issues. The Albion head coach is a firm believer in improving the players at his disposal and insists spending big on a striker is rarely a guarantee of regular goals.

"I keep saying this," said Potter. "I am used to the question and I always say the job of the football club – and I am included in that – is it to try and improve.

"Just because you identify something, it doesn’t mean to say that the person out there that fits the structure of the club, that’s available and that makes a difference.

"If you look at our strike force, we’ve got Danny [Welbeck] coming back from injury, Neal has played 80 games for us and scored 22 goals, he’s on one-in-four for us at the moment.

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"It’s too easy to look for an external solution, but I understand that when we’re not scoring that’s what people look at and what people want.

"I’d like to think that they trust Tony Bloom, they trust the football club and the journey it’s been on. Ten years ago the club were in League One. So what the club has done in that time is amazing and they’ve done that by making good decisions and that will continue in the area of improvement if we think we’ve spotted a player that can improve us we will do that.

"But it’s important to understand the players we have and the journey that they’re on, that they’re still improving, that they’re going to make mistakes and get better. There’s a lot to be happy and excited about at this club."

Brighton have spent £140m on transfers since Potter took charge in 2019 following his arrival from Championship outfit Swansea. The Albion head coach is on a long term contract, he has the full backing of his chairman Bloom and Potter urged fans to trust the process and trust the chairman.

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“Ten years ago this club was in League One so clearly something has happened that is very, very impressive to be in this situation now where people refer to us as an established Premier League club," Potter added.

"Tony has done that, not on his own of course because he’s got a lot of fantastic people around him. There’s Paul Barber, Dan Ashworth and a great board that make good decisions and have a clear idea of what they want to go and how they are going to get there.

“It’s not a straight road, it’s not an easy path because you are competing with the most financially able teams in world football, who have the resources to blow you out of the water.

“So, you have to think strategically about how we can compete and I think, Tony does that really well.

“If I was a supporter, I'd be excited.

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“I’m a member of staff and I'm excited. But like I said, the emotion of the game means it can be a little bit doom and gloom.

"Sometimes you need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture in perspective and say ‘Actually, this is a club that you should be really proud of’ Because I am.”