Brighton could solve right-back problem by landing dazzling £21m Spanish wonderkid in January

Brighton & Hove Albion haven’t had the easiest of rides of late – for all the praise justly heaped on Roberto de Zerbi for the strides the Seagulls have taken since he took charge, recent form has plunged and there have been a slew of injuries for the south coast outfit to deal with. Perhaps the worst-hit position has been right-back, where setbacks have seen Pervis Estupiñán and Tariq Lamptey’s spells on the treatment table extended. Brighton, however, may have found a solution.

Juanlu Sánchez has been one of the brighter sparks in a tough season for Sevilla. The Europa League champions are once again flirting dangerously with the relegation zone in La Liga and their Champions League campaign has been derailed – but the newly-minted Spain Under-21 international has impressed, and that has drawn some inevitable attention.

Local newspapers in Seville have reported that De Zerbi is monitoring the 20-year-old, but is he the right-back reinforcement that Brighton need? Based off his performances so far this season, the answer could be a resounding ‘yes’.

Sánchez is an all-action full-back who covers every blade of grass down the right flank, and does so very effectively. He’s dangerous in the final third, rugged in the tackle and has the fitness to run all day long, precisely what the Italian head coach demands from his full-backs. On paper, it’s a very neat fit.

On the defensive side of the ball, he offers plenty. His average of 4.61 successful tackles per game is one of the very best tallies in Europe, as is the 2.11 blocks he manages every 90 minutes. He’s the kind of defender who gets all over his opposite man, never shirks a challenge, and rarely gets it wrong. He also has the raw pace to keep up with all but the quickest wingers, and while his reading of the game could be better – he tends to get straight to his man and look for a challenge rather than shutting down crossing angles, for instance, he’s good enough at his work that it doesn’t lead to too many mistakes.

And he’s very handy going forward, too. He’s an excellent dribbler who generates a ton of yards for his side with the ball at his feet, quick enough to get into dangerous positions down the wing to receive passes on the overlap, and a strong enough crosser and passer than he creates plenty of chances, with an average expected assists of 0.4 every game, a very high number for a nominally defensive player. He really does do a bit of everything, and does it very well indeed. There’s a lot to love about the way he plays, and you can see why Brighton would be excited.

The problem, of course, is that they aren’t the only ones who've noticed how good he is. Other news outlets have mentioned both Newcastle United and Real Madrid as clubs who might be keen, and as lovely as Brighton is, Sussex is a hard sell if Real come calling. He shouldn’t be too expensive, at least, as he currently has a release clause of just €15m (£12.8m), although that does apparently rise to €25m (£21.4m) in January. Sevilla would expect every penny of that clause, and are almost certainly going to try to tie him down to a new contract. The player himself hasn’t made any noises about wanting to leave, and whether he’s interested in moving to the Premier League at this point in his career remains an open question.

The fact is though that Brighton makes a lot of sense for him. He fits De Zerbi’s hundred-mile-per-hour pressing game to a tee, has the passing quality to move the ball around the back line under pressure, which is a huge part of the way the Seagulls play, and has the speed and skill down the flank to get the ball forward and help his team break quickly and dangerously. Brighton’s recent track record of developing talent also suggests that they’re a club that could make the most of his raw potential – and Sánchez seems to have that in abundance.

The youngster is new to senior football, and maybe he can’t sustain the impressive levels of play he’s demonstrated so far – but from everything we’ve seen, he’d be a great fit for Brighton, and a worthy transfer target for a team who need to shake things up a little bit to get back on track. If they can get this one over the line in January, they might not be so worried about all those injuries after all…

More from The Wonderkid Files

► Valentín Barco

► Jamie Bynoe-Gittens

► Sávio

► Assan Ouédraogo

► Leny Yoro

► Naj Razi

► Roony Bardghji

► Archie Gray

► Antonio Nusa

► Estevão Willian