Sussex World reporters Derren Howard and Sam Morton discuss the potential arrival of Diego Coppola from Hellas Verona to Brighton in a £10m deal
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00:00Okay, thanks for joining us, Sam, for a transfer special on the Sussex world. It looks as though
00:09Brighton have signed Diego Coppola from Hellas Verona. He performed well in Serie A last year,
00:17had a number of clubs after him, previously linked with Tottenham, and then Bournemouth
00:21were credited with late interest. But it appears that Brighton have got this 10 million deal
00:27over the line. It's a signing they needed, isn't it, Sam? They needed to boost their defence.
00:34Yeah, no, good afternoon, Darren. Yeah, it's really, really exciting news, actually, for Brighton.
00:40Obviously, they're trying to get some business done early. And obviously, defence is definitely
00:44an area of the team which needs improvement. We've seen, obviously, a number of injuries to
00:49key players in that Brighton defence. Obviously, Lewis Dunst has been in and out of the team,
00:55obviously due to injury in form. Adam Webster has been really good, had a really good season,
01:00but was also injured for a large part. Igor has really suffered with injuries. Obviously,
01:05he's got full-backs that have been out, Veltman, Laptee. So, it's been a real problem there.
01:09And even Caddy Ocloo as well, he's missed a huge chunk of the season. So, it's been a huge
01:13problem in the team, just keeping those defenders fit. So, I'm not surprised to see Brighton
01:18try and revamp their defence. And yes, an interesting one with Diego Coppola reportedly
01:24coming in from Hellas Verona, just waiting for a medical, as you say. So, it'd be an
01:30interesting prospect. He's obviously 21 years old. He's only ever played for Hellas Verona,
01:35having been born in the city. So, that's probably one Brighton will have to take into consideration.
01:39He's only ever played for one team. He's a young man. It might be one of those signings that
01:43take a little while to really get the best out of England as he adjusts to a new country
01:48for the first time. He's represented Italy at various youth levels. The youth international
01:54levels have a play for the under-18s, under-19s and under-20s. In December 2022, he was involved
02:01in training camps led by the Italian City National Seeds Manager Roberto Mancini at the time.
02:07And he was kind of quickly becoming one of the most promising national talents for Italy.
02:12And it really took one step further. Last week, actually, he made his debut
02:16for Italy in Friday's 3-0 World Cup qualifying defeat away to Norway.
02:21Yeah, not the best debut for him.
02:24Yeah. Obviously, it's not how he would have wanted it to go. But on a personal level,
02:29just really great to get in that first team. And hopefully, it'll be the first of many.
02:35Yeah. Yeah. No, it looks as though Brighton, it's a typical Brighton signing, isn't it? It's sort of
02:4121 years old, and he's just on the cusp of breaking, you know, like becoming an Italian
02:47international. And where do you think it leaves Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk? Because
02:54do you think, can you see one of them leaving? Obviously, it's hard to see Lewis Dunk leaving as
03:00the club captain. But so the obvious candidate is Adam Webster's position could be in jeopardy
03:06there. How do you see that, Sam? That's an interesting one, isn't it?
03:10Yeah, it's an interesting one. But I think this signing wouldn't necessarily be one that
03:14will go straight into the first team. I think obviously, they've already signed Oliver Boscalli
03:18as well from obviously PSV Einhoeven, who's got a bit more experience, obviously being
03:2227 years old, and obviously a long time target for Brighton, and will come in obviously on
03:27a free transfer. So I believe he will be slotting straight into that first 11, I'd imagine.
03:33So it will be interesting to see kind of what happens with Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster,
03:39especially because obviously, they're obviously getting on in their careers. And Adam Webster seems
03:44to have improved in the last year, but Lewis Dunk has perhaps taken a step the other way. I think
03:50we obviously praise Lewis Dunk immensely, and he's been a fantastic servant to the club. But really,
03:56in kind of recent seasons, I think the last couple of seasons, he's kind of struggled a little bit to
04:03rediscover that brilliant form that we've come to expect from Lewis Dunk. And it got to the point
04:08when even when he was fit, you'd kind of put Adam Webster and the team ahead of him, which you never
04:12would have said even the year before that. So it's an interesting one.
04:16No, it was the back end of last season, especially.
04:19Yeah, 100%. And obviously, they're going to try and build a team around Jan-Paul Van Heek.
04:24Obviously, he's undroffable, isn't he? He's obviously the key defender. So it's about finding
04:29someone to partner him that you can rely on, that will be fit throughout the season. And having
04:34these backup options can only really help. So I'm sure Adam Webster and Lewis Dunk will still be
04:39around the squad and trying to help out. But if they do need to free up some space,
04:44I can maybe see one of them going. So I'm interested to see what happens. But yeah, time will tell.
04:49Time will tell. Yeah, no, it sounds like a good sign-in on principle. But just elsewhere,
04:54Sam, lots of talk with Jal Pedro, Newcastle, potentially Liverpool as well. I would be sorry
05:02to see him go, but it's kind of a move that makes sense as well, isn't it? Especially if Brighton
05:07are going to add to their forward line during the summer transfer window, which looks likely.
05:13Yeah, yeah, no, 100%. I think Jal Pedro is almost definitely going to leave at this point.
05:18We've heard that Newcastle could be in for him. Obviously, they've seemingly missed out on signing
05:22Brian and Bumo, who seems to be heading to Manchester United if that deal gets agreed.
05:28So they've turned their attention to Jal Pedro. And I think that would be a really good move for him.
05:31And I wouldn't be too surprised to see him stay in the Premier League because we've seen what he can do
05:35in the top flight. And he's obviously been a brilliant player for Brighton.
05:39And as we've mentioned in a previous podcast, it would be a real shame for Jal Pedro to leave
05:44in the manner that he has done. Because you kind of like to see players like Alexis McAllister
05:49and even Yves Bissouma as well. They've all been given good receptions and they've all been kind of sent
05:55with well wishes on their future endeavours after leaving Brighton. But as you've seen with
06:00players like Mark Cucre and Moises Cresado, left under even Trossard, left under a bit of a cloud.
06:07And you kind of hope that Robertson, sorry, you hope that Jal Pedro wouldn't go the same way.
06:13You kind of hope that if he did want that move, he'd do it in a kind of a nice way,
06:18like end the season in good terms. But unfortunately, it did obviously go a bit sour
06:22and he missed the last couple of games after the training ground bust up.
06:25So if that is the last we've seen in Jal Pedro, it is a real shame. But I think it wouldn't be a shock
06:29to see him leave now. He's definitely a quality player that deserves a big move.
06:35Yeah, yeah. Do you think 60, 70 million would be about right for him as well?
06:39I think so. Yeah, I think Brighton can get that much for him and Newcastle or whoever comes in
06:45for it will be willing to pay that. It'll be a really good, really good move for all parties, I think.
06:50Yeah, yeah. Good stuff. All right, Sam. Well, thanks. Thanks for going through that.
06:55There's going to be lots more movement throughout the summer transfer window, I'm sure, for Brighton.
07:00They've got a big squad to deal with this summer. And I expect to see a lot of the fringe players,
07:07perhaps movement there as well. And it'll be interesting to see who comes and goes throughout the summer.
07:12So keep an eye on the Sussex World website. We'll be updating all of the transfer news and gossip
07:19as it goes along throughout the summer. But in the meantime, thank you very much, Sam.
07:23Cheers, Darren.