If you’ve watched any Brighton games this season, you are aware of Roberto De Zerbi’s preference for switching up his starting lineup up front. Every few weeks, João Pedro takes the lead. For others, it’s Danny Welbeck or Irish sensation Evan Ferguson.
Pedro and Ferguson are players Brighton knows they can rely on going forward. They have begun searching for Danny Welbeck’s replacement because they are unable to say the same about him. Jota Silva of Vitoria Guimaraes is one of the names Brighton could recruit to replace Welbeck, according to HITC’s Graeme Bailey’s report this week.
This season in the Primeira Liga, the 24-year-old Portuguese international has nine goals and five assists. He plays mostly as a right winger because he is a right-footed player. For Vitoria Guimaraes, Silva has also operated as a No. 10 or a conventional striker through the center.
Silva is the best player when it comes to entering hazardous situations. In terms of touches inside the opponent’s penalty area, he is in the 89th percentile among European strikers; in terms of shots taken, he is in the 86th percentile. Silva leads just four players in Portugal in terms of shots on goal.
There are reportedly more teams interested in signing Silva this summer besides Brighton. According to HITC, Celtic, Leicester City, and Wolves are also considering the adaptable attacker.
Silva could fit in well with De Zerbi’s Brighton team because of his comparable playing profile to João Pedro’s, but there’s also reason for caution considering how one-dimensional Brighton’s attack has occasionally appeared this season.
For a number of reasons, the Seagulls re-signed Danny Welbeck in 2022 to a two-year deal. He is a wonderful locker room influence and a key Premier League veteran, to start with. He offers Brighton a unique attacking look, though, which is the main reason he’s been so crucial.
Welbeck plays hold-up better and more consistently than Ferguson, and he has a considerably stronger aerial presence than Pedro. Although neither of them can press as well as the 33-year-old can, he possesses an uncanny ability to score an unexpected goal and pull a rabbit out of a hat that few Brighton players do not currently possess.
This June is when Welbeck’s contract expires. Brighton is unlikely to re-sign him, which creates a huge void in De Zerbi’s squad. Jota Silva might be the person to cover that gap.
It’s also important to remember that Deniz Undav might return from Stuttgart on loan to take Welbeck’s place. In that scenario, Silva would be added to the right wing to take on Simon Adingra and Solly March.
