Last summer I, immediately after Cucurella was sold, suggested that Pervis would replace him. Mainly for two reasons: 1. he was at the top of fbref.com's "similar players" when I looked at Cucurellas page, and 2. we had heard of him before.
Its not the first time fbref makes these comparisons between Albion players and players linked with the club. For example, Nicolas Gonzalez is seen as the most similar player to Leo Trossard.
Fbref is one of the sites with the most data points, making it somewhat interesting and better compared to most sites.
Players are only compared with other players from the top 5 leagues so any hidden Eredivisie gems etc. will not appear here.
Possible replacements for Robert Sanchez:
1. Jose Sa, Wolves
2. Maxime Dupe, Toulouse
3. Emiliano Martinez, Villa
4. Lukas Hradecky, Leverkusen
5. Antony Lopes, Lyon
6. Kevin Trapp, Leverkusen
7. Guglielmo Vicario, Empoli
8. Wojzszszszs Szcznenynenznny, Juventus
9. Marvin Schwäbe, Köln
10. Steve Mandanda, Rennes
Out of these we can rule out a number of players (Sa and Martinez) due to being too good/expensive. Most are too old (Dupe, Trapp, Mandanda, Hradecky, Lopez, Polish guy).
This leaves us with two candidates: Schwäbe (26 year old, Köln) and Vicario (27, Empoli), if Sanchez would be sold and replaced this summer. It appears that Vicario recently was picked for the Italian national team and seems to generally be considered a very good keeper.
Possible replacements for Lewis Dunk:
1. Jose Fonte, Lille
2. Gian Marco Ferrari, Sassuolo
3. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
4. Gerzino Nyamsi, Strasbourg
5. Joe Rodon, Rennes
6. Raphael Varane, Manchester United
7. Philipp Lienhart, Freiburg
8. Gabriel, Arsenal
9. Robin Le Normand, Real Sociedad
10. Eric Dier, Spurs
A bunch of these can be ruled out for either being too old or too established, leaving us with Nyamsi (26), Rodon (25), Lienhart (26) and Le Normand (26) as potential Dunk-esque players who could swop in if the club feels it needs another players like that or if he's off to Chelsea or something... As Joe Rodon has been rumoured to Brighton before, I wouldn't be too surprised to see it happening.
It could be mentioned that five or six of these names also appear in the Webster comparison, indicating that Brighton indeed are looking for a certain kind of CBs.
Possible replacements for Perverto Carlos:
1. Adrien Truffert, Rennes
2. Alex Telles, Sevilla
3. Johan Mojica, Villarreal
4. Jose Luis Gaya, Valencia
5. Javi Galan, Celta Vigo
6. Mathias Oliveira, Napoli
7. Diogo Dalot, Manchester United
8. Zeki Celik, Roma
9. Lucas Digne, Aston Villa
10. Caio, Monaco
21-year-old left back Adrien Truffert from Rennes tops the list. Celik, Oliveira, Gaya and Caio are all between 25-26 and could also be possible candidates. But why make it difficult? Young mr Truffert seems like he fits all the criteria when Perv moves to Melchester Rovers for £92.5m in the summer.
Possible replacements for Moises Caicedo:
1. Oriol Romeu, Girona
2. Marc Roca, Leeds
3. Johann Lepenant, Lyon
4. Charles Aranguiz, Leverkusen
5. Valentin Rongier, Marseille
6. Manuel Locatelli, Juventus
7. Dominik Kohr, Mainz
8. Nabil Bentaleb, Angers
9. Rodrigo Bentacur, Tottenham
10. Cheick Docoure, Crystal Palace
20-year-old French midfielder Johann Lepenant and 26-year-old Juve midfielder Locatelli are probably the only ones who are any likely if you consider age and availability etc. Don't know much about the French guy, but Locatelli would be a very interesting player who might not be entirely out of reach.
Possible replacements for Alexis Mac (pause) Allister:
1. Oscar Arnaiz, Celta Vigo
2. Giacomo Bonaventura, Fiorentina
3. Santi Comesana, Rayo Vallecano
4. Ruben Alcaraz, Cadiz
5. Franck Kessie, Barcelona
6. Tanguy Ndombele, Napoli
7. Kevin Stöger, Bochum
8. Samuel Moutoussamy, Nantes
9. Nicolas Dominguez, Bologna
10. Youssouf Fofana, Monaco
24-year-old Oscar (who are nice) tops the list ahead of a bunch of slightly older men (Santi is 26 and could be considered, I guess). Further down the list we find 24 yo Argentinian midfielder Nicolas Dominguez from Bologna who does smell a bit Albion. Fofana is also 24, but might be out of reach... maybe. One of these might replace Alexis.
Possible replacements for Adam Lallana
1. Emil Forsberg, Leipzig
2. Nikola Vlasic, Torino
3. Gianluca Caprari, Monza
4. Giacomo Raspadori, Napoli
5. Mario Götze, Frankfurt
6. Rodrigo, Real Betis
7. Jonathan Ikone, Fiorentina
8. Nedim Bajrami, Sassuolo
9. Aleksei Miranchuck, Torino
10. Mario Pasalic, Atalanta
Lots of quality here, much of which might be difficult to get. Emil Forsberg tops the list but is too old (31) and well-paid (Red Bull). Giacomo Raspadori got his debut and breakthrough under RDZ in Sassuolo but might be very difficult to sign as he is playing in what might be the best team in the world currently. 22-year-old Rodrigo from Real Betis looks like a decent candidate, 24yo Ikone and 23yo Bajrami (who also pops up as a possible replacement for the AMC version of Alexis) are also worthy of a mention. Personally I would like the slightly older Mario Pasalic from Atalanta.
Possible replacements for Pascal Gross
1. Benjamin Bourigeaud, Rennes
2. Luis Alberto, Lazio
3. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
4. Nicolo Barella, Inter
5. Christian Eriksen, Manchester United
6. Martin Ödegaard, Arsenal
7. Piotr Zelinski, Napoli
8. Teun Koopmeiners, Atalanta
9. Ilkay Gundogan, Manchester City
10. Carlos Soler, PSG
Plenty of "yeah, seems like a good idea, whats the problem?" here but in reality some of them might be difficult to get. The 29-year-old Frenchman topping the list is also high on the list when comparing Gross against AMCs rather than MCs (which is the case above). But he is a bit old. Nicolo Barella (26), Koopmeiners (24) and Carlos Soler (26) are probably the only somewhat realistic signings on the list, at least if the latter could move/reduce wages in order to get some more game time. Most likely none of these are ever going to play for Brighton though.
Possible replacements for Kaoru Mitoma
1. Felipe Anderson, Lazio
2. Jadon Sancho, Manchester United
3. Martinelli, Arsenal
4. Kingsley Coman, Bayern
5. Jack Grealish, Manchester City
6. Tete, Leicester
7. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal
8. Jonathan Bamba, Lille
9. Mattia Zaccagni, Lazio
10. Hirving Lozano, Napoli
A lot of class here. 26 year old Jonathan Bamba from Lille and 27 year old Mattia Zaccagni might be the only realistic candidates. Seems to easier to just keep Mitoma, so lets go with that.
Possible replacements for Solly March
1. Jonathan Bamba, Lille
2. Felipe Anderson, Lazio
3. Aleksandr Golovin, Monaco
4. Matteo Politano, Napoli
5. Jack Harrison, Leeds
6. Junior Messias, Milan
7. Raphina, Barcelona
8. Lorenzo Pellegrini, Roma
9. Florian Sotoca, Lens
10. Cengiz Under, Marseille
Bamba again. Maybe a sign of some sort? I'm convinced. Sign him up. Golovin (26) from Monaco might be another candidate, or why not Lorenzo Pellegrini (26) from Roma. But lets go with Bamba.
Possible replacements for Leandro Trossard
1. Nicolas Gonzalez, Fiorentina
2. Tete, Leicester
3. Martinelli, Arsenal
4. Felipe Anderson, Lazio
5. Jonathan Bamba, Lille
6. Jesper Lindström, Frankfurt
7. Raheem Sterling, Chelsea
8. Moussa Diaby, Leverkusen
9. Phil Foden, City
10. Riyad Mahrez, City
Tross left but was arguably not replaced. This list includes some of the players also seen as similar as Mitoma/March, and also includes former (?) target Nicolas Gonzalez. But we're already signing Jonathan Bamba as the new fancy winger.
Possible replacements for Danny Welbeck
1. Ollie Watkins, Villa
2. Danny Ings, West Ham
3. Kai Havertz, Chelsea
4. Moussa Dembele, Lyon
5. Gaetan Laborde, Lille
6. Giovanni Simeone, Napoli
7. Che Adams, Southampton
8, Breel Embolo, Monaco
9. Alvaro Morata, Atletico
10. Tammy Abraham, Roma
Want a shite, expensive striker who does not want to play for Brighton? Well, look no further! Two or three of them would be fine to see in a Brighton shirt but there's really no one all that tempting.
Possible replacements for some other players
- Flavius Daniluc (21, Salernitana) or Nehuen Perez (22, Udinese) for Veltman (CB). Bafode Diakite (22, Lille) or Jean-Kevin Duverne (25, Brest) for Veltman (RB).
- Issa Kabore (21, Marseille), Miguel Gutierrez (21, Girona), Nicola Zalewski (21, Roma) or Sergio Akieme (25, Almeria) for Tariq Lamptey.
- Warmed Omari (21, Rennes), Jon Pacheco (22, Real Sociedad), Edmond Tapsoba (24, Leverkusen) or Srdan Babic (26, Almeria) for Levi Colwill.
We'll see if any of these end up in Brighton at some point... but I'm at least fairly sure many of the players mentioned in this post will be at least rumoured to the club.
Its not the first time fbref makes these comparisons between Albion players and players linked with the club. For example, Nicolas Gonzalez is seen as the most similar player to Leo Trossard.
Fbref is one of the sites with the most data points, making it somewhat interesting and better compared to most sites.
Players are only compared with other players from the top 5 leagues so any hidden Eredivisie gems etc. will not appear here.
Possible replacements for Robert Sanchez:
1. Jose Sa, Wolves
2. Maxime Dupe, Toulouse
3. Emiliano Martinez, Villa
4. Lukas Hradecky, Leverkusen
5. Antony Lopes, Lyon
6. Kevin Trapp, Leverkusen
7. Guglielmo Vicario, Empoli
8. Wojzszszszs Szcznenynenznny, Juventus
9. Marvin Schwäbe, Köln
10. Steve Mandanda, Rennes
Out of these we can rule out a number of players (Sa and Martinez) due to being too good/expensive. Most are too old (Dupe, Trapp, Mandanda, Hradecky, Lopez, Polish guy).
This leaves us with two candidates: Schwäbe (26 year old, Köln) and Vicario (27, Empoli), if Sanchez would be sold and replaced this summer. It appears that Vicario recently was picked for the Italian national team and seems to generally be considered a very good keeper.
Possible replacements for Lewis Dunk:
1. Jose Fonte, Lille
2. Gian Marco Ferrari, Sassuolo
3. Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool
4. Gerzino Nyamsi, Strasbourg
5. Joe Rodon, Rennes
6. Raphael Varane, Manchester United
7. Philipp Lienhart, Freiburg
8. Gabriel, Arsenal
9. Robin Le Normand, Real Sociedad
10. Eric Dier, Spurs
A bunch of these can be ruled out for either being too old or too established, leaving us with Nyamsi (26), Rodon (25), Lienhart (26) and Le Normand (26) as potential Dunk-esque players who could swop in if the club feels it needs another players like that or if he's off to Chelsea or something... As Joe Rodon has been rumoured to Brighton before, I wouldn't be too surprised to see it happening.
It could be mentioned that five or six of these names also appear in the Webster comparison, indicating that Brighton indeed are looking for a certain kind of CBs.
Possible replacements for Perverto Carlos:
1. Adrien Truffert, Rennes
2. Alex Telles, Sevilla
3. Johan Mojica, Villarreal
4. Jose Luis Gaya, Valencia
5. Javi Galan, Celta Vigo
6. Mathias Oliveira, Napoli
7. Diogo Dalot, Manchester United
8. Zeki Celik, Roma
9. Lucas Digne, Aston Villa
10. Caio, Monaco
21-year-old left back Adrien Truffert from Rennes tops the list. Celik, Oliveira, Gaya and Caio are all between 25-26 and could also be possible candidates. But why make it difficult? Young mr Truffert seems like he fits all the criteria when Perv moves to Melchester Rovers for £92.5m in the summer.
Possible replacements for Moises Caicedo:
1. Oriol Romeu, Girona
2. Marc Roca, Leeds
3. Johann Lepenant, Lyon
4. Charles Aranguiz, Leverkusen
5. Valentin Rongier, Marseille
6. Manuel Locatelli, Juventus
7. Dominik Kohr, Mainz
8. Nabil Bentaleb, Angers
9. Rodrigo Bentacur, Tottenham
10. Cheick Docoure, Crystal Palace
20-year-old French midfielder Johann Lepenant and 26-year-old Juve midfielder Locatelli are probably the only ones who are any likely if you consider age and availability etc. Don't know much about the French guy, but Locatelli would be a very interesting player who might not be entirely out of reach.
Possible replacements for Alexis Mac (pause) Allister:
1. Oscar Arnaiz, Celta Vigo
2. Giacomo Bonaventura, Fiorentina
3. Santi Comesana, Rayo Vallecano
4. Ruben Alcaraz, Cadiz
5. Franck Kessie, Barcelona
6. Tanguy Ndombele, Napoli
7. Kevin Stöger, Bochum
8. Samuel Moutoussamy, Nantes
9. Nicolas Dominguez, Bologna
10. Youssouf Fofana, Monaco
24-year-old Oscar (who are nice) tops the list ahead of a bunch of slightly older men (Santi is 26 and could be considered, I guess). Further down the list we find 24 yo Argentinian midfielder Nicolas Dominguez from Bologna who does smell a bit Albion. Fofana is also 24, but might be out of reach... maybe. One of these might replace Alexis.
Possible replacements for Adam Lallana
1. Emil Forsberg, Leipzig
2. Nikola Vlasic, Torino
3. Gianluca Caprari, Monza
4. Giacomo Raspadori, Napoli
5. Mario Götze, Frankfurt
6. Rodrigo, Real Betis
7. Jonathan Ikone, Fiorentina
8. Nedim Bajrami, Sassuolo
9. Aleksei Miranchuck, Torino
10. Mario Pasalic, Atalanta
Lots of quality here, much of which might be difficult to get. Emil Forsberg tops the list but is too old (31) and well-paid (Red Bull). Giacomo Raspadori got his debut and breakthrough under RDZ in Sassuolo but might be very difficult to sign as he is playing in what might be the best team in the world currently. 22-year-old Rodrigo from Real Betis looks like a decent candidate, 24yo Ikone and 23yo Bajrami (who also pops up as a possible replacement for the AMC version of Alexis) are also worthy of a mention. Personally I would like the slightly older Mario Pasalic from Atalanta.
Possible replacements for Pascal Gross
1. Benjamin Bourigeaud, Rennes
2. Luis Alberto, Lazio
3. Kevin De Bruyne, Manchester City
4. Nicolo Barella, Inter
5. Christian Eriksen, Manchester United
6. Martin Ödegaard, Arsenal
7. Piotr Zelinski, Napoli
8. Teun Koopmeiners, Atalanta
9. Ilkay Gundogan, Manchester City
10. Carlos Soler, PSG
Plenty of "yeah, seems like a good idea, whats the problem?" here but in reality some of them might be difficult to get. The 29-year-old Frenchman topping the list is also high on the list when comparing Gross against AMCs rather than MCs (which is the case above). But he is a bit old. Nicolo Barella (26), Koopmeiners (24) and Carlos Soler (26) are probably the only somewhat realistic signings on the list, at least if the latter could move/reduce wages in order to get some more game time. Most likely none of these are ever going to play for Brighton though.
Possible replacements for Kaoru Mitoma
1. Felipe Anderson, Lazio
2. Jadon Sancho, Manchester United
3. Martinelli, Arsenal
4. Kingsley Coman, Bayern
5. Jack Grealish, Manchester City
6. Tete, Leicester
7. Bukayo Saka, Arsenal
8. Jonathan Bamba, Lille
9. Mattia Zaccagni, Lazio
10. Hirving Lozano, Napoli
A lot of class here. 26 year old Jonathan Bamba from Lille and 27 year old Mattia Zaccagni might be the only realistic candidates. Seems to easier to just keep Mitoma, so lets go with that.
Possible replacements for Solly March
1. Jonathan Bamba, Lille
2. Felipe Anderson, Lazio
3. Aleksandr Golovin, Monaco
4. Matteo Politano, Napoli
5. Jack Harrison, Leeds
6. Junior Messias, Milan
7. Raphina, Barcelona
8. Lorenzo Pellegrini, Roma
9. Florian Sotoca, Lens
10. Cengiz Under, Marseille
Bamba again. Maybe a sign of some sort? I'm convinced. Sign him up. Golovin (26) from Monaco might be another candidate, or why not Lorenzo Pellegrini (26) from Roma. But lets go with Bamba.
Possible replacements for Leandro Trossard
1. Nicolas Gonzalez, Fiorentina
2. Tete, Leicester
3. Martinelli, Arsenal
4. Felipe Anderson, Lazio
5. Jonathan Bamba, Lille
6. Jesper Lindström, Frankfurt
7. Raheem Sterling, Chelsea
8. Moussa Diaby, Leverkusen
9. Phil Foden, City
10. Riyad Mahrez, City
Tross left but was arguably not replaced. This list includes some of the players also seen as similar as Mitoma/March, and also includes former (?) target Nicolas Gonzalez. But we're already signing Jonathan Bamba as the new fancy winger.
Possible replacements for Danny Welbeck
1. Ollie Watkins, Villa
2. Danny Ings, West Ham
3. Kai Havertz, Chelsea
4. Moussa Dembele, Lyon
5. Gaetan Laborde, Lille
6. Giovanni Simeone, Napoli
7. Che Adams, Southampton
8, Breel Embolo, Monaco
9. Alvaro Morata, Atletico
10. Tammy Abraham, Roma
Want a shite, expensive striker who does not want to play for Brighton? Well, look no further! Two or three of them would be fine to see in a Brighton shirt but there's really no one all that tempting.
Possible replacements for some other players
- Flavius Daniluc (21, Salernitana) or Nehuen Perez (22, Udinese) for Veltman (CB). Bafode Diakite (22, Lille) or Jean-Kevin Duverne (25, Brest) for Veltman (RB).
- Issa Kabore (21, Marseille), Miguel Gutierrez (21, Girona), Nicola Zalewski (21, Roma) or Sergio Akieme (25, Almeria) for Tariq Lamptey.
- Warmed Omari (21, Rennes), Jon Pacheco (22, Real Sociedad), Edmond Tapsoba (24, Leverkusen) or Srdan Babic (26, Almeria) for Levi Colwill.
We'll see if any of these end up in Brighton at some point... but I'm at least fairly sure many of the players mentioned in this post will be at least rumoured to the club.
