Brighton & Hove Albion save most of their main transfer business each year for the longer summer window, which opens on June 15 and does not shut until September 1.
A near £200million ($269m) spend on nine new signings in the summer 2024 window was a one-off in terms of scale to replenish the squad after big sales, but they still splashed out approximately £70m on five signings in 2025.
They habitually make at least one major summer sale. Throw into the mix reaching the UEFA Conference League with the World Cup potentially complicating closing deals and it promises to be a hive of activity again at the Amex Stadium.
The information found within this article has been gathered according to The Athletic’s sourcing guidelines. Sources with knowledge of transfer dealings, who asked to be kept anonymous to protect relationships, have been spoken to before offering the clubs involved the opportunity to comment.Who will make key decisions this window?This will be the first summer window under the partnership of sporting director Jason Ayto and technical director Mike Cave. They came together last September when Ayto joined from Arsenal — where he worked as both assistant and interim sporting director — and Cave was promoted from assistant technical director after the departure of David Weir (now sporting director at Strasbourg).Ayto oversees all football areas of the club, including deals in and out. Cave will lead on incoming deals, chief executive Paul Barber will be involved in any major sales.Jason Ayto joined from Arsenal (Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)What positions will they be looking at in the summer window?Primarily right-back and centre-forward.A right-back is needed to replace the departing Joel Veltman, while the sale last summer of Joao Pedro to Chelsea for £60m left them heavily dependent on 35-year-old Danny Welbeck to lead the front line. There may be other positions under scrutiny, notably goalkeeper, centre of defence and central midfield, depending on departures.The multiple midfield options were trimmed by record Premier League appearances holder James Milner announcing his retirement on Monday at the age of 40. The club had offered him another year as a player.What is the manager’s priority?A bigger squad with quality depth to cope with the UEFA Conference League.Assuming they negotiate the two-legged play-off round in August, that will involve lots of Thursday fixtures in Europe and Sunday games in the Premier League. This, in turn, will require plenty of squad rotation by Fabian Hurzeler to deal with the schedule.
