Brighton sold ‘important’ player for £8.5m in the summer, now he’s outperforming Ferdi Kadioglu
Brighton will be regretting a summer sale as the player concerned shines elsewhere and outperforms current starting left-back Ferdi Kadioglu.
Brighton oversaw a busy summer transfer window as numerous high-profile players departed the club and a number of new signings were brought in to replace them.
Joao Pedro left Brighton to join Chelsea in a big blow to their European hopes for this season, while the likes of Evan Ferguson, Simon Adingra and Pervis Estupinan also departed.
Fabian Hurzeler‘s side have been inconsistent so far in 2025-26, with two wins, three draws and two losses from their first seven league games and 10 goals both for and against up to now.
Some players have impressed, while some have failed to live up to expectations as yet, and the Seagulls may well lament their decision to sell a certain player based off certain statistics from this season so far.
Valentin Barco leads Ligue 1 in two key stats after Brighton exit
Valentin Barco joined Brighton as a highly-rated 19-year-old left-back in January 2024 from Boca Juniors, but things did not go to plan for him at the Amex Stadium following his move.
He made seven appearances in all competitions in his first half-season at the club and failed to make the position his own under Roberto De Zerbi, as the then-boss called Barco “important” and “the best” player on the pitch [Brighton] even after he was at fault for two goals in a 4-0 loss to Man City.
The Argentina youth international was loaned out to Sevilla last season, but only lasted six months in La Liga, making seven appearances, as he was then sent to Strasbourg on loan in the last January window.
Barco shone under Liam Rosenior as he helped the Ligue 1 outfit finish seventh to qualify for Europe, and he officially permanently left Brighton in the summer for £8.5million [The Athletic], which will now be seen as a snip after the continuation of his impressive form in France.
He has been one of Ligue 1’s top performers in a number of key metrics so far this term, with Squawka revealing via X that Barco has won the most ground duels of all players up to now, with 45.
Barco has also, surprisingly, won the most fouls of all players in the French top-flight too, with 19, while he has also provided an assist, so is clearly doing very well and may have shone at Brighton if he had stayed.
Brighton have no better left-back than Barco in those statistics
Hurzeler has chopped and changed at left-back so far this term, with Maxim De Cuyper brought into Brighton from Club Brugge after Estupinan’s departure.
He was handed a start at left-back in the first three league games of the season, but was dropped from the starting line-up for the last four games after picking up a minor injury as Ferdi Kadioglu took his place and kept it.
In the Premier League so far this term, De Cuyper has won just 15 duels and seven fouls, while Kadioglu has won 18 duels and six fouls [Fotmob], so both are being massively outperformed by Barco in that regard.
The fact that Hurzeler is yet to settle on either left-back shows that he is unsure of them both, and given Barco’s form, Brighton could well already be regretting letting him leave with a bright future ahead at just 21-years-old.