The free agent who could be a perfect fit for Brighton – if Real Madrid don’t get there first

The best things in life rarely come for free, whatever proverbs might claim, and that’s doubly true in football – but there is at least one extremely impressive defender about to his the open market this summer, and one Premier League club’s long waiting game could pay off.

Brighton had at least two bids for PSV Eindhoven defender Olivier Boscagli rejected last summer, but the Dutch club’s determination to keep hold of one of their best assets hasn’t encouraged him to sign a new contract, and Boscagli is set to become a free agent in a few months’ time. But why would Boscagli be such a perfect fit for the Seagulls – and who else might be in the bidding?

Why Boscagli would be a natural fit for Brighton’s system

The Monte Carlo-born defender is something of a late bloomer, and it’s only in the last couple of seasons that the 27-year-old has been earning significant attention in the transfer market – and much of that comes down to his greatly improved passing range and quality on the ball.

Although used as a left-sided centre-half in a back four, Boscagli has become increasingly comfortable stepping up from the line to take control of possession and his use of it has developed considerably over the past couple of years. He’s now a ball-playing defender who picks out accurate long passes with regularity and sparks attacks for his team as often as he shuts down those of the opposition.

That lines up neatly with what Fabian Hürzeler seems to want from his centre-halves – whether it’s Lewis Dunk, Igor, Adam Webster or Jan Paul van Hecke, Brighton’s manager asks defenders to be bold on the ball and to look to get it into advanced areas quickly, and Boscagli may well become the best player on the books in that regard if he makes the switch.

The table above compares some of Boscgali’s statistical output in key areas to Brighton’s preferred defenders at present, based on the numbers from the 2024/25 league season. There are some caveats – we only have access to incomplete data from the Eredivisie, meaning that some of Boscagli’s stats are drawn from European games instead, but the numbers seem to be a fair reflection of his output based on the data we do have from the Dutch league.

In short, the raw stats suggest that Boscagli is just as good a defender as the players the Seagulls currently have access to but has a wider, more dangerous passing range (‘progressive passes’ are defined as completed passes which get the ball into the box or at least 10 yards further downfield) and is surprisingly effective in the air given that he stands a shade under six feet tall.

There is a fair question to be asked as to whether a left-sided centre-half is a desperate need given the presence of Dunk and Igor in the squad already, but plenty of reason to believe that the Monagesque defender, who represented France at youth level, could be an improvement on the options already in the side – and because his numbers are drawn largely from the Champions League, concerns that he wouldn’t be able to replicate those numbers in the Premier League compared to the Dutch league may be less significant than normal.

Boscagli is a comfortable fit for the current Brighton squad and a player who could be an upgrade at a key position – and Brighton have conceded more goals than any team in the top half of the table this season barring Aston Villa. Their defence is perfectly decent, and the way they use the ball very solid, but there is room to improve if Brighton want to compete for European places more regularly.

Real Madrid and Inter Milan could stand in the way

Just because Boscagli would be a good signing for Hürzeler, however, doesn’t mean that it’s a deal that will happen. They may have been the side making the bids last year, but reporting suggests that a number of other clubs could make a move, including some of the continent’s most storied sides.

Inter Milan and Borussia Dortmund were both rumoured to have been interested at around the same time that Brighton were trying to pry him away from PSV, Fenerbahçe supposedly consider a bid over the winter, and reporting from the winter even suggests that Real Madrid are monitoring him should they fail to land preferred options such as William Saliba or Jarrad Branthwaite.

The very fact that he will be available on a free transfer, barring an eleventh-hour change of heart about signing an extension at the Philips Stadion, means that plenty of teams will be circling and although reports from the Netherlands heavily implied that he wanted to join Brighton last year, he may yet have his head turned by a bigger team. Players of Boscagli’s apparent class seldom come on the market like this.

There are still four months left until Boscagli’s contract ends, but he is free to talk to teams already and while there has not yet been any suggestion that a deal with Brighton or any other team is close, no doubt preliminary discussions with interested parties have been going on behind the scenes – and Brighton may do well to reignite last summer’s interest.

Boscagli may not be as young as most players the Seagulls sign, and they may have showed a willingness to start spending all of the cash they earned from those big-ticket sales, but a free agent who would likely improve the team isn’t something that comes along too often. They would do well not to miss out.