Igor Julio: Everything you need to know about Brighton's new £17m defender

Igor Julio became Brighton’s fifth signing of the summer when he joined the club from Fiorentina for £17m.

The Brazilian defender has signed a four-year-deal with the club and is expected to link-up with his new Albion teammates next week once they return back from their pre-season tour of the US.

The 25-year-old arrives on the south coast having spent the last three-and-a-half years playing for Fiorentina, rising from an unknown quality to a regular starter within this period.

Having joined Red Bull Brazil’s youth set-up as a kid, Igor moved to Europe as an 18-year-old to join Red Bull Salzburg and played the majority of his football for their reserve side FC Liefering for the next two years.

After failing to make an impact in Austria, Igor transfered to Italy and had his first taste of Serie A football with SPAL in the summer of 2019. Playing in a poor team that won just three league games before Christmas, Igor caught the attention of a number of clubs, mainly because of his eye-catching athleticism and ground-speed.

Six months into his SPAL career, Igor joined Fiorentina on a two-year loan with an intention to buy for €1.4 million in January 2020. It took a while for the defender to find his place in the side, as the club went through a chaotic period of having three head coaches in one season (including the firing and then re-hiring of Giuseppe Iachini) and finishing 13th in the 2020/2021 season.

The appointment of Vincenzo Italiano saw a turn of fortunes for La Viola and Igor started to grow into the side. Playing on the left-hand side of a back three or as a wing-back, Igor began to demonstrate his ability to drive out from the back into midfield areas. He could do this with ease due to his strength, speed and dribbling ability.

The defender also has a keen eye for a pass allowing him to be utilised effectively as a ball-playing defender in Italiano’s back three, being given the freedom to carry the ball into the opposition's half and pick out Dušan Vlahović or Christian Kouamé.

HAVE YOU READ THIS?

The Brighton team to play Newcastle with Roberto De Zerbi to name strong side

'Better than expected' - Liverpool and Brighton linked ace receives Chelsea confirmation after £40m bid

Moises Caicedo update: Chelsea make a fourth bid but start to consider other targets including midfielder wanted by Liverpool

In the defensive phase, Igor was prone to mental lapses of concentration, meaning he was left in some suspect positions for a number of goals conceded by Fiorentina in the last two seasons.

However, Igor’s incredible running speed also meant he was able to recover from poor positional starting points and make a block from a shot or cross, as well as being able to cover mistakes made by his team-mates, making him a valued member of the Fiorentina squad.

He was a whisker away from catching Jared Bowen before he clipped in West ham’s late winner in the Europa Conference final, in what turned out to be the Brazilian's last game for the club.

Igor was wanted by Brighton because he is one of football’s rare breeds; a left-footed centre-back. De Zerbi, like many top managers in the modern day, desire to have this alongside a right-footed defender in order to bring balance to their team’s build up play from the back.

Having failed to re-sign Chelsea defender Levi Colwill following his impressive season-long loan at the Amex Stadium, their was a major gap in this role, something which Igor will now step in to.

Igor is not just a left-footed player though, he is one that is very comfortable with the ball at his feet and will slot in well to a De Zerbi ball-playing defence, whilst also offering something unique in his dribbling ability and confidence to bring the ball out of dangerous situations.

De Zerbi will need to fine tune the defender’s confidence on the ball, as his dribbling out of tight areas can sometimes leave his team in precarious positions, which won’t be accepted by the Italian.

More importantly, Igor is a talented player with a lot of exciting qualities, Brighton fans have a lot to look forward to when watching this Brazillian next year.