'Irreplaceable' – Brighton chief Paul Barber names their transfer mastermind even Chelsea or Newcastle cannot poach

Brighton and Hove Albion’s recent success in the transfer market has been well publicised over the past few years.

Lose Marc Cucurella to Chelsea for £63m, no problem – they bring in Pervis Estupian for £15m. Leo Trossard exits to Arsenal for £30m, that’s okay Kaoru Mitoma joined last season for £3m. Ben White joins Arsenal for £50m, Joel Veltman is there for less for less than £1m and behind him is Jan Paul van Hecke for £2m. Robert Sanchez to Chelsea for £25m equals Bart Verbruggen in for £15m. £25m for Yves Bissouma to Tottenham, hang on we have an Ecuadorian called Moises Caicedo for £4m… and so the list goes on.

It’s not only players but managers too. Graham Potter and his staff left for Chelsea for £20m and the then out-of-work Roberto De Zerbi arrives and continues the upward trend.

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It’s a trick that has worked very well for Brighton of late and despite slipping down the Premier League recently to 10th, the club remain in a sound position in the table and financially. Chelsea have plundered Brighton’s recruitment staff too, and two seasons ago Newcastle tempted technical director Dan Ashworth to St James’ Park – although he’s soon set for Man United.

Should Brighton be worried? Will losing all this talent eventually catch up with them? Chief executive and deputy chairman Paul Barber does not think so, as it’s all about the data.

"People are one part of the process,” said Barber speaking to the Albion podcast. “The data is the most important part. How we interpret it and how we use it is something we have been building and gaining skill in over many years.

"Losing people is never great but none of those are irreplaceable but that data would be. That is ours and it's something that is ours alone. The more we use it the more accurate we get with it and hopefully that makes our recruitment solid for many years to come.

“People leave, they understand how we work but do they do not leave with the data. That is unique to Tony [Bloom] and that gives us that edge we think we can maintain. We are not as vulnerable to losing recruitment staff as some fans or media sometimes think we are.”

Barber’s role in transfers has changed over the years and his focus now is mainly player sales – which helped the club to achieve record profits last season.

"In terms of players coming in, I don't tend to get involved too much these days,” he added. “I tend to be involved in players going out. We have grown and added to our expertise and it makes absolute sense for a small team to focus on players coming in.

"Use the data, find the players, negotiate with the club and agent and bring them in. Our player care team then takes over and makes sure they settle as quickly as possible and hands a player over for the coaches ready for player coaching and development.

"If needed [I will step in to help a deal] but very often I’m not needed as much as I was five, six or seven years ago because we have an established team to do that work. If there is a relationship, if I know the club the player or agent then I will get involved. But more often, I'm involved in players going out.

“That's where we maximise what we have done. The initial recruitment, maximising the work the development team have done, pushing the player out for loans. And then the chairman's overall investment in that player. And then it's my job to sell and try to maximise the value.

"In the case of [Moises] Caicedo that was a lot of money. Cucurella that was a lot of money. Trossard and so on. That tends to be how we divide resources at the club and we have become pretty good and using each others strength.”