Jaouen Hadjam brings pace and width after £9.5m Brighton move | OneFootball

According to WeAreBrighton.com, Brighton have signed left back Jaouen Hadjam from Young Boys for £9.5 million. The deal comes despite left back not appearing a priority.

Of Algerian descent, he played for France at Under 17s and Under 19s before switching to Algeria in 2023. He has 21 caps and featured at the World Cup with one start and two substitute outings.

His senior breakthrough came at Paris FC in August 2020, then Nantes signed him for around £260,000. In April 2023 he was dropped after refusing to break his Ramadan fast, with Antoine Kombouare saying there was no controversy and he respected the choice.

Minutes were scarce in 2023-24, with six substitute appearances in 18 Ligue 1 games before a January 2024 switch to Young Boys for over £1 million. He helped win the 2023-24 Swiss title and leaves for a sizeable profit.

Tall and quick, he fits the modern full back and rates well for dribbles and crosses. He likes to overlap and deliver, attributes that may suit Brighton’s shortage of width.

Mitoma and Minteh are injured, Gruda and Watson loaned, and Osman, Yohanna and Cozier-Duberry untested. Narrow displays against Bologna, 1-0, and Tromso, 0-0, underlined the issue, with Hadjam potentially providing width.

It also raises questions over Ferdi Kadioglu, linked with Fenerbahce and Manchester United amid homesickness talk, though he seems unlikely to go this summer. Maxim De Cuyper could be used higher up after defensive struggles, with Hadjam adding cover on the left.

Source: WeAreBrighton.com

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