[Albion] Minamino to Brighton? Surely not.

POSKETT AT THE VALLEY said:

Was he really all that for Liverpool?

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Harry Wilson's tackle said:

We will need more depth for European football next season.

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Oh_aye said:

'Can play as a 10 or on either wing'

Yeah. Seems likely.

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jcdenton08 said:

I’ve read some articles about this theory over the years, and I’m sure @El Presidente knows more about this subject than I, but this is actually largely a myth.

Many clubs have tried this, but actually commercial income from merchandise and such is negligible compared to PL wages for an established player.

We’ve seen the interest in Mitoma from the Japanese market, and it’s great to “expand our brand” in Asia, but in reality that doesn’t directly equate to cash.

If you look at clubs like Manchester United, they are massive in Asia and Africa because they simply won everything for ages, and young people grew up with them on top and remained fans as adults.

When they actually tried to court those markets directly, they had very mixed results, Dong Fangzhou was a disaster, but Park Ji-sung worked because he was actually a good player, bought for the right reasons.

As for this specific player, we’re absolutely stacked in his position, he’d be one of the highest earners, and any income from merchandising would be minimal.

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Kalimantan Gull said:

Expanding our brand internationally surely HAS to equate to cash, no? The big six have revenues that dwarf ours, and that's not solely through European competitions, gate receipts and TV revenue. Instead this divide is driven by commercial revenue of which international sponsorships, partnerships and so on must be a major factor.

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GT49er said:

Didn't think so, myself. Mind you, there might be some mileage in keeping the Japanese fans on line after we sell Mitoma (in the summer?) On balance though, it's a no and a sh!t story for me.

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jcdenton08 said:

Absolutely it does, you’re right, but I’m talking specifically about direct causation between signing an international player and commercial income rising exponentially.

If you look at it in reverse, the massive and hugely expensive signings made in the USA and Saudi, but previously China, Japan and elsewhere, have had a negligible effect on commercial income for the teams involved. If I sign a, let’s say, Indian footballer on let’s say £20-£100k/wk, it isn’t going to translate to a massive uptick in income suddenly from India, and will be a loss-leader, not a profit-making business decision.

All of the big earners there are big brands, consistent trophy winners, with global reputations developed over multiple decades.

Commercial income comes hand in hand with success. Good management and business acumen, of which we have loads, can help us maximise our income from the markets we operate in, but we can’t compete with the most famous teams in the country on brand recognition no matter how many international names we sign.

We’ll never, ever, make money off the back of a player transfer solely in commercial returns.

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JetsetJimbo said:

This looks like the only feasible justification for me. He doesn't fit our profile at all, how often do we sign 29-year-olds from clubs like Monaco? But if the club's decided our commercial appeal in Japan is important, then this is what might be happening.

Agree that on balance it's probably nonsense. Even if we were specifically looking for a Japanese player, I suspect Bloom's data would lead us to someone who represents better value and a greater chance of turning a profit.

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Mancgull said:

I reckon agents initiate’linked to Brighton’ stories to gain interest from other clubs….. if Brighton’s algorithm says yes then he must be good.
I put this one down as bollocks as we are well stacked in the No10 / wingers positions.

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Kalimantan Gull said:

Yeah OK, thats fair enough, agree with your point - but I would just say that (i) we are coming from so far back that everything helps in this regard, and Brighton signing a high-profile overseas player moves the needle for us more than Man Utd doing the same does for them, (ii) Japan might be a special case as they go extreme for their stars (as we see every matchday at the Amex) and they are a rich country, and (iii) Mitoma isn't just any Japanese player but a star lighting up the premier league. I am convinced that more Japanese people are aware of us because we have Mitoma, that increases our brand recognition which in turn leads to more commercial opportunities. A quick google suggests that we picked up a commercial partnership with Google Pixel allied to the Japanese tour https://sportsmintmedia.com/brighto...ogle-pixel-ahead-of-pre-season-tour-to-japan/

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