Brighton and Hove Albion broke their club transfer record once again to sign left-winger Jose Izquierdo from Club Brugge. The fee is understood to be in the region of £13.5m.
The Columbian international is the promoted side’s tenth addition during a summer spree that has also seen previous record signings Australian goalkeeper Mat Ryan and Dutch midfielder Davy Propper join, as the Seagulls seek to hold on to their top-flight status.
Manager Chris Hughton said the 25-year-old’s experience at club level in European and domestic competitions, as well as on the international stage, were key factors in the move:
Jose is someone we have been aware of for sometime and has been one of the standout players in the Belgian league over the past three years. Jose has good experience with almost 250 senior games in both Colombia and Belgium, and has played in the Europa League, Champions League and international football, having made his debut for his national team this summer.
Brighton’s new signing added:
The club believed in me. They took the time to follow my football, showed me the project for Brighton and the new challenge to be in the Premier League. I liked it and made the decision to join. The record fee is a motivation; we feel pressure in other ways, so you can’t think of the fee like that. You have to think that they paid that money because you deserve it. You have to keep this in mind and work like that. Every day you have to improve yourself and give everything for the club. The Premier League is a top league and I hope I can show my qualities and help the team.
The History
Born in Pereira in Columbia, Izquierdo starting playing youth football as a goalkeeper before moving to an outfield wing role. He was signed by his home side Deportiva Perera at the age of 18 and over a four-year spell racked up 83 appearances, scoring 15 times.
A move to Columbian side Once Caldas followed in which his scoring output improved markedly, finding the net on 13 occasions in 45 appearances.
This was enough to attract the attention of Club Brugge, who signed him ahead of the 2014/15 season. He quickly became a regular for the Belgian top-flight side, appearing 117 times, including 84 league appearances during his three-season stay.
He scored 13 league goals in his debut season and another seven in 2015/16 as he helped Brugge lift the Belgian First Division title. His performances that year earned him the Belgian player of the year award, known as ‘the Golden Shoe’.
His final campaign proved to be his most prolific in terms of scoring – 14 times in 32 appearances – including a hat-trick against Charleroi and braces against Oostende and Mouscron in the league.
He was also a regular in the Brugge first XI during their European Cup encounters, appearing 11 times in the Europa League and four times in the Champions League, where he scored against Leicester City in the group stages last season.
Izquierdo, who has a pet pig called Peter with its own Instagram account and has been known to wear sunglasses during his goal celebrations, debuted for the Columbian national team in a June friendly against Spain and scored in his second outing later that month, against Cameroon.
The Prospects
Chris Hughton struggled to find consistency on the left side of midfield in his preferred 4-4-2 system last season, with the defensively-minded Jiri Skalak preferred in tough away matches and Solly March and Jamie Murphy sharing that berth in easier home fixtures.
But with a move to a 4-4-1-1 formation in the Premier League, Hughton has decided that consistency, pace and big match experience is required down that flank.
Izquierdo’s tendency to cut inside from the left at speed and shoot with his stronger right foot will be crucial if the Seagulls are to find the firepower needed for survival, particularly after successive blanks in their opening two Premier League fixtures.
Hughton said:
“He’s a very exciting player to watch, and along with that excitement, he will bring pace and creativity to the team; he also has an excellent goalscoring record.”
While primarily a left winger Izquierdo – who has been handed a 6.0 FPL price tag – also offers Hughton further options up front as he can also play on the right wing and in the support striker berth currently occupied by another summer signing, Pascal Gross.
His underlying statistics across his four Champions League appearances indicate he can deliver goals, with four of his nine shots on target.
Across his 15 European appearances, he registered a shot every 35.4 minutes, which compares favourably with Skalak’s shot every 76.6 minutes in the Championship last season and slightly better than the Seagulls’ set-piece specialist Anthony Knockaert’s rate of a shot every 35.6 minutes last season.
His 82% successful pass rate in Europe also suggests at baseline bonus potential, although he created just one chance over 260 minutes at this level to dampen enthusiasm regarding assists.
In addition, across 958 minutes of European action, he mustered just five key passes and failed to register an assist. His key pass rate at European level was just one every 191.6 minutes.
Nevertheless, in the league with Brugge he did accumulate 19 assists across three campaigns, but nine of these arrived during Brugge’s title-winning season and he only managed three last time out.
Rested for Brighton’s Carabao Cup match with Barnet, a start away to Watford could be on the cards, although reports suggest he will only make the bench having only started training with his new team-mates this week.
There could also be a question mark regarding his minutes for Gameweek 4’s home clash with West Brom as Columbia play a World Cup qualifier at home to Brazil just four days before the Baggies’ visit.
