January traditionally a busy month for the Seagulls

Over the past ten seasons, no current Premier League team has signed more players in the month of January than Brighton.
Anthony Knockaert. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)Anthony Knockaert. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)
Anthony Knockaert. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)

Of the 33 players who have joined, the likes of Leonardo Ulloa, Anthony Knockaert and Glenn Murray displayed some shrewd business was done. However, signings such as David Rodriguez and David Gonzalez failed to establish themselves at the Amex.

Prior to signing Jurgen Locadia for a club record £14m last week, research revealed that over the past ten seasons, the Seagulls have a net spend of £7m during the winter transfer window, ranking 14th on the list of all Premier League clubs.

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New figures from UK job board CV-Library have found that the “big six” (Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs) are responsible for more than half (56 per cent) of all January expenditure across the past ten seasons, with Brighton contributing less than one per cent.

Leonardo Ulloa (left) celebrates a goal with Liam Bridcutt. Picture by Angela BrinkhurstLeonardo Ulloa (left) celebrates a goal with Liam Bridcutt. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst
Leonardo Ulloa (left) celebrates a goal with Liam Bridcutt. Picture by Angela Brinkhurst

Looking at the total ten-year spend of any side, Roman Abramovich’s Chelsea have forked out an eye-watering £250m on new recruits since the 2006/2007 season. However, the Blues only have a modest net spend of £6m due to recouping over £240m thanks in part to the sales of the likes of Oscar, Juan Mata and Andre Schurrle.

In comparison, Brighton have spent just under £12m on 33 players, an average of £350,000 per player while they have recouped just over £4m, mostly thanks to the £3m sale of Liam Bridcutt to Sunderland in the 2013/2014 season.

Surprisingly, Stoke City come third in the overall net spend list due to the modest income they have received through player sales. The Potters have sold 28 players to the tune of £11m, an average cost of just £409,000 per player - the lowest of any current Premier League side that has spent a full season in the league and in stark contrast to Chelsea who average a whopping £11m per player sold.

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Newly promoted Huddersfield Town have spent and received the least out of all 20 Premier League clubs - the Terriers have dished out £4m on players since the 2006/2007 season, almost three times less than closest rivals, Brighton (£11m) and only six per cent of the average expenditure across the whole league.

Glenn Murray. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)Glenn Murray. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)
Glenn Murray. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)

Only four Premier League clubs have a positive net spend - Newcastle United substantially lead the way through a profit of over £30million, followed by Watford (£7m), Swansea (£7m) and West Bromwich Albion (£4m).

Lee Biggins, founder and managing director at CV-Library, said: “Becoming a professional footballer is something many youngsters aspire to, so it is interesting for us to be able to highlight just how much the top teams are paying for player transfers in order to better their performance.

"It is however also important to remember how many other jobs are produced which play a part in the success of the footballers in question. Without the support of physios, coaches, trainers and even the caterers, many professional footballers would not be able to reach the heights that they do. For every success story, there is always a team of people behind the scenes that have laid a helping hand.”

Brighton signings in the past ten January transfer windows

2006/2007

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Bas Savage (Gillingham) Free; Nathan Elder (Billericay) £14,000

2007/2008

Glenn Murray (Rochdale) £405,000; Jonny Dixon (Aldershot Town) £69,000; Steven Thomson (Falkirk) Free; Shane McFaul (UCD) Free

2008/2009

Chris Birchall (Coventry City) Free; Jason Jarrett (Preston) Free; Gary Dicker (Stockport) Free; Craig Davies (Oldham Athletic) £113,000; Jim McNulty (Stockport) £203,000

2009/2010

Chris Holroyd (Cambridge) £72,000; Grant Hall (Lewes) Free; Sebastien Carole (Tranmere) Free

2010/2011

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Peter Brezovan (Swindon Town) Free; Inigi Calderon (Alaves) Free; Craig Noone (Plymouth) £324,000; Luc Matutu (Nantes) Free

2011/2012

Kazenga LuaLua (Newcastle) £1,150,000; Brennan Dickenson (Dorchester) Free; David Gonzalez (Man City) Free

2012/2013

Leonardo Ulloa (Almeria) £1,620,000; Emil Asmundsson (Fylkir) Free

2013/2014

David Rodriguez (Celta Vigo) Free; Jeffrey Monakana (Preston) Undisclosed; Dale Stephens (Charlton) Undisclosed

2014/2015

Beram Kayal (Celtic) Undisclosed

2015/2016

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Anthony Knockaert (Standard) £3,150,000; Jiri Skalak (Mlada Boleslav) £1,530,000; Richie Towell (Dundalk) Free; Henrik Bjordal (Aalesund) Undisclosed

2016/2017

Glenn Murray (Bournemouth) £3,150,000; Vegard Forren (Unattached) Free

Brighton departures in the past ten January transfer windows

2006/2007

Wayne Henderson (Preston) £203,000; Richard Carpenter (Oxford) Free; George Santos (Welling United) Free

2007/2008

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Bas Savage (Millwall) Free; Dean Hammond (Colchester United) £338,000; Alex Revell (Southend United) £203,000; Nathan Elder (Brentford) £47,000

2008/2009

Steven Thomson (St.Mirren) Free; Jack Compton (Havant) Free; Scott Chamberlain (Bognor Regis) Free

2010/2011

Graeme Smith (Hibernian) Free; David Livermore (Barnet) Free; Jake Wright (Oxford) Free; Kevin McLeod (Wycombe) Free; Andy Whing (Leyton Orient) Free

2011/2012

Steve Cook (Bournemouth) £162,000

2012/2013

Matt Sparrow (Crawley Town) Free

2013/2014

Liam Bridcutt (Sunderland) £3,290,000; Ashley Barnes (Burnley) Undisclosed; George Baker (Swindon Town) Undisclosed; Adam El-Abd (Bristol City) Undisclosed

2014/2015

Nzuzi Toko (Eskisehirspor) Free

2015/2016

Jeffrey Monakana (Voluntari) Free; Emil Asmundsson (Fylkir) Free; Charlie Harris (Barnsley) Undisclosed; Adrien Colunga (Unattached) Free

2016/2017

Jake Forster-Caskey (Charlton) Undisclosed