I still regret not bringing Kaoru Mitoma to Liverpool - I should have insisted
- mrwedwards
- Nov 2, 2024
- 2 min read
Alexis Mac Allister was afforded a warm reception when he returned to former club Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday night.
The midweek match marked the World Cup winner’s third meeting with the Seagulls since leaving the club to join the Reds
He won’t have to wait long to lock horns with his former club once more, with the Reds welcoming Brighton to Anfield
But while Mac Allister is the only former Seagull in Liverpool’s ranks, things could have been very different with a number of his former team-mates previously emerging on the Reds’ transfer radar.
Liverpool infamously missed out on signing Moises Caicedo last summer despite agreeing an £111m deal with Brighton
the Reds’ former director of research, Dr. Ian Graham, has shared his admiration for a number of Brighton's transfers in recent years
Graham
“At Liverpool we admired both Brentford and Brighton’s signings, though we never told them that,”
“Me and my colleague Daf Steele used to keep lists of players who looked outstanding in their domestic leagues but were either not quite good enough for Liverpool or played in a style that didn’t fit ours…
“Brighton also signed players on our radar. Pascal Gross performed at an above-average Premier League level while playing in the second division of the Bundesliga, and has played at that level for years for Brighton.
“Enock Mwepu was the best young midfielder in Austria…
“Marc Cucurella was easily a Premier League level player while playing in Spain, and when Chelsea paid a barely credible £62 million to sign him, Brighton immediately replaced him with the only young full-back in Spain who rated at a similar level, Pervis Estupinan.”
However, there is one Brighton player that Graham still regrets not insisting upon as a potential Liverpool transfer target - Kaoru Mitoma.
Graham adds
“Kaoru Mitoma was the best player in Japan, rating above the Premier League average,”
“It was very rare for us to rate a player in Japan anywhere near Premier League level.
“It’s still a source of regret to me that I didn’t insist that Mitoma be more seriously considered as a potential Liverpool signing.”
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