Brighton transfer howler? Fresh details emerge over Derby County's £9m Eiran Cashin sale | OneFootball

Eiran Cashin joined the Seagulls just over 12 months ago from the Rams, but they were told to avoid a move.

In January 2025, Brighton & Hove Albion finally signed Eiran Cashin after months of interest in the centre-back - but his time at the Seagulls is yet to go to plan.

The 24-year-old came through the ranks at the Rams, and was handed his debut by Wayne Rooney in the 2021/22 campaign, eventually becoming a regular as injuries gripped the East Midlands outfit, who were in administration at the time.

He helped the club to promotion back to the Championship in 2023/24, and had an excellent first-half of the season under Paul Warne at Pride Park before Brighton came calling once again.

Despite originally rejecting a bid, Cashin moved to the AMEX Stadium just days after his former side were beaten 2-1 by Cardiff City away from home.

The Mansfield-born ace stayed by himself with the away fans in what was ultimately a goodbye to the club that had given him his chance in professional football.

But, it has now emerged that a move away from Derby may not have happened at all had certain advice been followed.

Brighton & Hove Albion were told not to sign Eiran Cashin from Derby County

Cashin was signed for nearly £10 million in the closing days of the January transfer window in the 2024/25 season, as he made his way to the Seagulls.

However, with pressure now on Fabian Hürzeler and the German potentially looking at an exit away from Sussex, The Telegraph have revealed that Brighton were told not to sign the young centre-back last year, but instead they ignored the advice given to them.

This was because Cashin had scored strongly on significant data reports, and he was given his chance in the Premier League after three excellent years in the first team at Derby.

Despite his previous form, he has made just two appearances for Brighton and has spent this campaign on loan in the Championship.

He struggled to make an impact at Birmingham City in the first-half of the season, and is seeing 2025/26 out at Ewood Park with Blackburn Rovers, where he has found some semblance of form once again.

Nevertheless, questions have to be asked as to whether he will ever become a regular at his parent club.

Derby County were the winners from the sale of Eiran Cashin

Over a year on from the departure of Cashin to Brighton, Derby have not looked back. The arrival of Matt Clarke and Sondre Langas, the latter for around £4m, in the same transfer window ensured that there was more than enough cover in the centre-back position.

Since then, Danny Batth and Dion Sanderson have also joined the club, and the Rams have continued to have an extremely strong defensive unit.

John Eustace never got the opportunity to work with Cashin, but he will be more than happy with the players that he has at his disposal as well as the money that was brought in for him that allowed Derby to spend freely in the summer transfer window.

For the player himself, he surely regrets his move to Brighton, and will be hoping that a potential change in manager at the AMEX could give him the opportunity to make his mark once his loan at Blackburn comes to an end.