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·6 Juli 2025
More Leandro Trossard than Deniz Undaz: Why Maxim De Cuyper should thrive with Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League

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·6 Juli 2025
Once again, Brighton and Hove Albion have picked up a star player from the Belgian Pro League. While their previous signing of Deniz Undav may not have worked out in England, De Cuyper should be successful. The system in place at the Sussex club should work well to help the left-back develop into a regular for the Belgian national team. With respect to Brighton, De Cuyper was linked with bigger teams like AC Milan this summer, but in the end, his choice of moving to England and specifically Brighton should pay off.
Many players have struggled to make the move from the Pro League to the Premier league in the past. Strikers like Undav and Paul Onuachu haven’t quite managed to make it work, while the likes of Sander Berge haven’t quite hit the heights expected of them. Yet, two who have made the move in the past that have been successful are Karou Mitoma and Leandro Trossard. The common denominator for those two was that they both moved from Belgium to Brighton. Trossard has since gone on to have success with Arsenal, while Mitoma’s name has come up in plenty of discussions this summer.
Where De Cuyper can benefit is that he doesn’t play as a striker like Undav. He won’t be judged on goals, but he can certainly contribute in that area. He is one of the best penalty takers in Belgium and one of the best scoring left-backs in the Pro League. De Cuyper scored more goals than 90% of those in his position last season. He created the most chances in the league, which is why he ended this recent campaign with six assists. During the 2023/2024 campaign he had 11 assists in 55 games. He is very much a modern full-back and, if he performs as he has done for Club Brugge, he will endear himself to the Brighton faithful.
There will be competition for places at Brighton, but De Cuyper is used to that. After he returned from a loan spell at Westerlo he battled Bjorn Meijer for the starting left-back spot. De Cuyper ended up having to play right-back to accommodate Meijer to begin with, but eventually, when it became evident that this was not a good fit, he won the starting spot off of the young Dutch defender.
For Club Brugge, they look set to potentially lose Meijer as well as De Cuyper. No doubt they likely have another young star ready to make a set up into the first team. This summer the club are cashing in once again on their talented crop of players, a vindication for how well the academy has been run in recent years. Brighton will continue to get plaudits for their signing strategy, and De Cuyper may well be the next one to result in a heap load of praise directed towards the Seagulls. However, it is important to remember that the clubs that produced these players prior to their move to the south coast of England also deserve their flowers.