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Brighton sign Paraguayan teenager Julio Enciso from Libertad Asuncion
Brighton have completed the signing of teenage forward Julio Enciso from Paraguayan club Libertad Asuncion, the club have confirmed on their website.
The 18-year-old has signed a four-year deal at the Amex and will join up ready for preseason later in June, subject to international clearance.
Manager Graham Potter said: “Julio is an exciting young talent, and he has had a great start to his career in Paraguay, as well as being a regular in the Paraguay national squad.
“He’s a young guy who is moving away from his home country for the first time, so we will help him to adapt to new surroundings and settle here in Brighton and Hove.
“We’re really looking forward to helping him develop and working with him, and he will complement our existing attacking options this coming season.”
The Sun reported that the value of the deal was £9.5million, having seen a January attempt to sign him fail.
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Potter led the Seagulls to their highest ever league finish in the 2021/22 season with a ninth-placed finish in the Premier League.
They were without a bonafide goalscorer however, instead operating with a committee of attackers who chipped in with single figures.
Neil Maupay was top-scorer with nine, followed by Leandro Trossard with eight and Danny Welbeck with six, so the hope is that Enciso can provide a boost to the scoring numbers.
The club have received £25million for selling midfielder Yves Bissouma to Tottenham and may still be looking to replace him.
Similarly if Marc Cucurella moves to Manchester City there will be a gap in Potter’s squad at left-back, so there could still be fairly significant business done in this window.
But picking up a young talent who has already achieved a considerable amount at his age is good news for fans.
Enciso has already won five international caps, and has made 68 senior appearances while scoring 21 goals.
The signs are therefore good that he could develop into a quality goalscorer as he matures, and given he is only 18 and cost a fairly low amount there is scope for significant sell-on value if he ends up being wanted by a side playing in Europe like Bissouma and Cucurella.
In other Brighton news, the club are in the race for Birmingham City’s George Hall.