Bargain Brighton signing Malick Yalcouye dubbed ‘next Kante’ and came through prestigious academy that produced Toure

BRIGHTON could have unearthed another hidden gem after the acquisition of 19-year-old Malick Yalcouye on a five-year deal.

The midfielder left his home country, Mali, as a teenager to move to the Ivory Coast and chase his football dreams by joining the famed ASEC Mimosas academy which produced the Toure brothers, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou, among others.

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Malick Yalcouye is tipped to be the next big thing for Brighton[/caption]

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Malick Yalcouye was named Man of the Match in the Champions League for Sturm Graz[/caption]

In the Swedish Allsvenskan league, Yalcouye was dubbed the next N’Golo Kante due to his ability to cover ground and hunt the ball like the legendary Chelsea midfielder.

Brighton were willing to pay the hefty fee for a player who had been in Europe for less than six months.

But they immediately loaned him out to Austrian side Sturm Graz, where he has played 15 league games, helping his side top the Austrian Bundesliga.

He’s also played eight times in the Champions League, gaining invaluable experience on his developmental journey.

The rationale behind the decision to loan him out, despite his strong pre-season performance, was to ensure that his young shoulders weren’t burdened with being the record sale for Goteborg, nor tasked with replacing the likes of Moisés Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister straight away.

Brighton had a similar plan for Caicedo when they first signed him from Independiente del Valle in 2021 on a four-year deal.

The main midfielder at the time was Yves Bissouma, so to allow Caicedo to develop Brighton chairman Tony Bloom and the sporting directors agreed it was best for him to go out on loan to Belgian side Beerschot.

By the time he returned from his loan spell, he was ready for the Premier League and stepped in perfectly under then-manager Graham Potter.

His success was so evident that both Chelsea and Liverpool were willing to break the Premier League transfer record to sign him.

Mac Allister also followed a similar loan development path before returning to explode at the Amex.

Sun Sport sources at Brighton say the club is very happy with the midfielder’s development so far in Austria and believe he’s ahead of schedule, possibly being ready for the Premier League squad next season.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler also described him as a potential world-class player when he first arrived at the club.

He said, “We are really pleased to bring Malick to the club. He is a talented midfielder with lots of potential to develop into a top-class player.

“He’s excited about this next stage of his career, and we’re looking forward to helping him progress.”