Brighton to add to South American talent pool with Julio Enciso signing

Brighton look set to announce their first signing of the summer transfer window in the form of Paraguayan teenager Julio Enciso.

Transfer oracle Fabrizio Romano states via Twitter, the Seagulls have reached a ‘full agreement’ with Club Libertad Asuncion and contracts are set to be signed after talks started last January.

Enciso is a player Brighton have had on their radar for some time with their scouting network again targeting South America as an area to recruit talent for the future.

The 18-year-old follows in the footsteps of Ecuadorian Moises Caicedo, who joined from boyhood club, Independiente del Valle, in the winter of 2021.

Under Graham Potter, Caicedo has already gained experience in the first team, making eight Premier League appearances, one being an impressive showing in his side’s 4-0 win against Manchester United near the tail end of the 2021/22 campaign.

An area due praise of Potter’s management is his willingness to trust younger players even in games of the highest stakes. Yves Bissouma is another example that has thrived with the added responsibility afforded to him since arriving from Lille.

Who is Brighton-bound Julio Enciso?

Although a different style of player to the two holding midfielders mentioned above, Julio Enciso will aptly suit Brighton’s fluid attacking approach.

Potter usually deploys a flexible 3-5-2 formation, filled with midfield players adept at playing between the lines and utilising their ability to play within confined areas to build attacks centrally.

Examples of these include Alexis Mac Allister, Pascal Groß and to a certain extent Leandro Trossard, in the event of the Belgian winger inverting his run.

Enciso’s attributes owe more to that of an advanced playmaker/striker as opposed to the aforesaid but is undoubtedly cut from the same cloth as the personnel already proved to be suited to Potter’s system.

According to Football Talent Scout, the already 6-times capped Paraguayan international’s weaknesses lie in both his positional awareness and physicality.

These shouldn’t come as a surprise considering his age, however, and will likely develop through a mixture of Potter’s renowned ability to nurture young talent alongside simply the player ageing.

Forever shrewd in their business, Graham Potter and Brighton look to have secured what could turn out to be a bargain at the listed £9.5m. For a player relatively unproven it is a significant fee, but considering the South Coast club’s track record it will surely pay dividends.