Ahead of the January transfer window I wanted to identify a few potential targets that Brighton could realistically pursue in order to improve the squad. These are not rumours, I do not (sadly) have insider information, but hopefully it provides some food for thought and hey – sometimes it’s fun to speculate!

Loan-ly This Christmas?

The quickest and most economical way to improve the squad would be to sign some players on short-term loan deals until the end of the season. The only incoming loan currently in the squad is Nicky Evrard which should allow for some maneuvering within the market.

My first port of call was to research the total game minutes of all Women’s Super League players this season. Athletes who aren’t seeing the field, particularly those hoarded by the ‘big four’, are prime candidates to be available on loan. Nobody who hasn’t played a single minute in the league jumped out at me, the best players in this situation were goalkeepers, and clearly Brighton are set there unless there is an emergency. There are however several players who have had limited opportunities due to either competition for places or injury.

With no European campaign and several key players returning from injury, Arsenal may sanction an outgoing loan or two to get their players more game time. If Lena Hurtig is available and willing to play week-in week-out, I’d take her in an absolute heartbeat. She’s had some niggling injuries, but that can happen when you’re not able to reach that first-team tempo. Kathrine Kuhl would be another fantastic option. She perhaps hasn’t shown her full potential so far in her stint with the Gunners, but given the opportunity of regular minutes at Brighton the well-regarded 20-year-old could stake a claim to a bigger role at her parent club next year.

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Aggie Beever-Jones who was on loan at Everton last year could be a deal worth exploring, although with Chelsea currently alive in four competitions they may need the strength in depth of their entire squad. The same could be said for another Blues youngster in Japan’s Maika Hamano who was recalled from an existing loan due to a shoulder injury, but is due to return imminently.

Although unlikely, Irene Guerrero at Manchester United could be an option having been out injured for the entire season, bar one appearance, if the Red Devils think she needs game time elsewhere to build up her fitness and durability. However, if she is retained then Lisa Naalsund might be available – with her opportunities limited, and the Albion’s strong Norwegian contingent, a short-term loan could appeal.

Down the road at Manchester City there are a couple of potential targets for the Seagulls. Jess Park is another player who was on loan at Everton last year and hasn’t played consistently this season, averaging just 22 minutes per game. After being on the fringes of the England squad for a while it’s entirely possible that she’ll want regular football in order to force herself back into international contention. Like her compatriot Naalsund on the red side of the city, Julie Blakstad is Norwegian, tick, and has only started one game this season, tick. She is another player who could go back to her club with some real momentum if she went out on loan and played regularly.

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Anyone coming in from elsewhere in the WSL would be a surprise. Spurs and Liverpool have genuine belief that they can crack the top four this season so are unlikely to weaken the amount of squad depth they currently have. Everyone in seventh or below is effectively at risk of relegation and therefore are not going to allow a player to go on loan to strengthen a rival. The only one I could maybe foresee would be Ellie Brazil returning to try and recapture some of the form that saw Spurs sign her from the Albion in 2022. Her career has been blighted by injuries so far and perhaps there would be some redemption in her coming back to Brighton, at least as an option off the bench.

United Mates in America

Ignore the bad pun (Melissa Phillips is American ok!) and journey with me across the pond to the National Women’s Soccer League. With the NWSL season ending mid-November and not due to restart until mid-March there is an opportunity for players to move in the US offseason, which at least partially coincides with the WSL January transfer window.

The NWSL season has been known to begin slightly later in the year which meant a player could be loaned in a WSL team for a few months and then returned to their parent club in time to start the new NWSL campaign. Unfortunately in 2024, due to the participation of many players at the Summer Olympics in Paris, there is a mid-season break, causing the start of the NWSL season to be brought forward. Whilst not impossible, this means that the chances on an incoming loan from the NWSL are essentially slim to none.

So permanent signings then. Obviously it’s difficult to pluck names out of thin air, but a good place to start might be free agency – a recent addition to the NWSL landscape that brings it in line with many other US sports. Unfortunately two players who presumably had worked with Melissa Phillips at Angel City, Sarah Gorden and Savannah McCaskill, decided to re-sign with Angel and move to San Diego Wave respectively. I would also rule out any of the consensus top five free agents in Crystal Dunn, Rose Lavelle, Mallory Swanson, Emily Sonnett and Emily Fox, all of whom will either remain in the US or have the opportunity to join elite level teams.

Looking at the next tier though, Tierna Davidson and Casey Krueger, both from Chicago Red Stars could be viable targets although they look close to sealing deals elsewhere in the NWSL. Their versatile teammate Bianca St-Georges might be a more realistic proposition and she offers some position versatility which is always useful.

We lost a defender from Finland who did pretty well for the Albion, Emma Koivisto, so why not look at her international colleague Natalia Kuikka. A similar age, a similar level of experience for Finland, and a current free agent – what’s not to like.

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The only other free agent I’d be looking at coming in and making an impact would be Emily van Egmond. She recently finished up a guest stint at Newcastle Jets in her Australian homeland, perhaps with an eye to being available for either the January WSL window or the start of the NWSL season in March. With extensive experience playing all over the world, including a brief stint with West Ham in 2021, she could provide the link between the midfield and the forward line we so desperately need.

A Pinstickers Delight

I genuinely would not be surprised if Brighton found a couple of gems to add to the squad from absolute left-field. We’ve already shown that we’re willing to look to Asia as well as South America for talent, in addition to the more well-known markets in Europe and the US. If that is the case then I wouldn’t envy anyone trying to write an article about potential transfer targets. Hold on…

Shopping List

So we could sign almost anyone, from anywhere. Great work. I see a Pulitzer prize in my future. Seriously though, what do we actually need? Where is improvement needed and how can we climb away from a relegation battle.

Starting in defence, we absolutely require a regular, no-frills, left-back. As I’ve stated before Emma Kullberg doesn’t have the range to play there regularly and unfortunately Poppy Pattinson just hasn’t developed defensively as much as we’d have hoped. On the right I think we’re ok and in the centre, though I’d love a veteran addition like Steph Houghton, if that’s not possible then I’d stand pat.

In midfield we have ball-players with varying levels of skill and dynamism, but we lack pace throughout and we haven’t got a deep-lying playmaker who can shield the defence and get the play going in the right direction. I’d settle for a defensive midfielder as well as a left-winger with genuine pace.

Up front I really do think for goalscoring we’re well set, particularly if Pauline Bremer plays centrally more often. As with the midfield though, we lack pace – and pace frightens defenders – particularly at the lower end of the league. Depending on the type of player this could come from the midfield and/or the wings, but a striker with some pitch-stretching speed wouldn’t go amiss.

What to Expect

We should temper our expectations somewhat. A lot of players came in during the summer and the potential of many more joining in January would seem unlikely.

However, relegation would be an absolute disaster for a team with a stated aim of cracking the WSL top four in the medium term. Not only does it waste at least a season in the Women’s Championship, with only one team promoted each season, winning the league would definitely not be a given. The longer the club languishes outside the top flight, the more casual fans will lose interest and suddenly asking for a new stadium to house an average attendance in the 1000-1500 range seems a big ask.

Now that’s worst case scenario, but there is only one chance to make as sure as humanly possible that doesn’t happen – and it opens on the 1st January.