[Albion] Mats Wieffer SINGS on 5 year contract

[um bongo molongo]

He seems a very competent, developing and positionally flexible midfielder so a ‘typical’ Brighton mid-level target but he’s not ready to step straight in and carry out the CB/CDM combination in the way Smith did at FCSP - not without a bit more development and training imo.

My concern is his 1:2:1‘s with attackers - although he looks good on paper with aerial duels, on the ground he seems to concede a lot of fouls with aggressive, late tackles (which is definitely not something you want to see in your CBs) and has trouble facing more agile attackers than him with better dribbling skills. This will cause problems I think when facing some of the high attacking teams in the EPL. Most of the games he has played at CB were before he played at senior level so he‘s not a straightforward defensive midfielder either, in fact, Feyenoord had him playing a bit higher last season so I wonder whether he is in fact more suited to a Billy Gilmour type role than CB? Unfortunately his dribbling skills aren’t his strong point. Where he is very strong is in his positional awareness, one touch short passing and creating space which are great skills for a pivot - not sure how much he favours that right foot though.

£36m for him seems a bit high to me - £30m maybe.

A good analysis here - probably more informative than a promo video on youtube at least

Thanks for the summary. Doesn’t seem like the ringing endorsement I was hoping for…

 

[Change at Barnham]

He’s part of my Netherlands squad in FM24 so it’s a yes from me!

That's very reassuring. What made you select him ahead of the hundreds of other players available?
The future of our club is clearly aligned with your FM24 skills. Time well spent, despite what your Dad thinks.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

Er, no I don’t.

I don’t smoke cigarettes……

I don’t smoke cigars or a pipe, pipe pipe…..

 

[Zeberdi]

Thanks for the summary. Doesn’t seem like the ringing endorsement I was hoping for…

Sorry - edited my post to make it shorter.

My opinions don’t count more than anyone else’s on here but I think he is no more or no less than what we can expect for £30m - a good mid-level recruitment target that needs some training/more development under a manager who has a clear DNA to his system - we are not going to get a Beckenbauer (or even a Caicedo) at that price.

I just think his dribbling skills (a must for modern CB’s to transition the ball into midfield and break through a high press) and ability to cope with fast, high attacking forwards could let him down a bit.

I’m holding back a bit on all the gushing that’s all but I think he could be a solid signing with a lot of potential.

 

[Mancgull]

Nine caps for Holland since his debut in 2023.£30m sounds about right.

 

[chickens]

We won’t know for certain unless we bring him in and Hürzeler plays him. If he can be developed further then he seems worthwhile, but like others I have a certain fear of recruiting from the Dutch league.

A lot of his existing stats seem positive, and he’s young enough that there could still be further improvement. I think there’s enough there for him to be worth taking the chance on. Let’s get him in and get Hürzeler working on him.

 

[BN9 BHA]

Sorry - edited my post to make it shorter.

No need to apologise…..

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I don’t smoke cigars or a pipe, pipe pipe…..

I dont smoke da reeeeeefa

 

[pigmanovich]

That's very reassuring. What made you select him ahead of the hundreds of other players available?
The future of our club is clearly aligned with your FM24 skills. Time well spent, despite what your Dad thinks.

Versatility, I like a good CB/CDM He doesn't start over De Jong, mind you, but old Frenkie isn't always fit and Wieffer is a good squad player.

As for my actual Brighton save, Assan Ouédraogo, Noah Darvich, Piero Hincapié, Festy Ebosele, and Wilfried Singo all shone if you're curious

 

[levs]

Versatility, I like a good CB/CDM He doesn't start over De Jong, mind you, but old Frenkie isn't always fit and Wieffer is a good squad player.

As for my actual Brighton save, Assan Ouédraogo, Noah Darvich, Piero Hincapié, Festy Ebosele, and Wilfried Singo all shone if you're curious

I signed Weiffer on FM for AFC Wimbledon when I got to the Prem and he helped me complete a treble 2 years later

 

[severnside gull]

I signed Weiffer on FM for AFC Wimbledon when I got to the Prem and he helped me complete a treble 2 years later

FM summed up right there

 

[levs]

FM summed up right there

Are you suggesting that my achievements on the game aren't remarkable? There's me thinking I could be the next Will Still. I've added it to my CV alongside similar achievements with Newport County, Forest Green Rovers and Crawley Town

 

[CheeseRolls]

Any move here has far more to do with overpaying for a player from the French league than any previous signings from the Dutch league. Anyone concerned about this would be advised to focus on finding the right lucky pants for next season, rather than worrying about where our transfer targets currently play.

For what it is worth I don't think Gross will be leaving this summer, but we do need to start planning for this eventuality.

 

[WhingForPresident]

This one makes a lot of sense on paper. No matter how Fab is planning to set the team up, we definitely need some more steel and physicality in the middle.

I know we've got a few posters on here that live in the Netherlands and follow Eredivisie but can't remember their usernames, would be interesting to get their thoughts.

 

[Zeberdi]

Versatility, I like a good CB/CDM He doesn't start over De Jong, mind you, but old Frenkie isn't always fit and Wieffer is a good squad player.

As for my actual Brighton save, Assan Ouédraogo, Noah Darvich, Piero Hincapié, Festy Ebosele, and Wilfried Singo all shone if you're curious

Would be nice to see a few videos where he is actually playing CB out of possession - they all seem to be him playing a CDM/CM role in attacking sequences - I’m not sure he has he even played CB at senior level has he?

How do you rate him as a CB? Good enough to play the central defender in a 3 man set up? I can‘t see anything to suggest he could naturally step straight into that role as some are suggesting.

His one touch passing is excellent btw

 

[JBizzle]

I don't really share the fears around signing players from the Eredivisie to be honest. Both Locadia and Jahanbakhsh were attckers that were signed for a team that, under Hughton, didn't attack. Their stats were always going to fail to translate in a 9-men-behind-the-ball team and Glenn Murray 100 metres up the pitch formation. Jahanbakhsh was a fierce attacking right winger who was played as a deep, conservative, defensive left winger.

I honestly think that unless a manager drives it (see. Fati and Dahoud) we have improved greatly in our recruitment accuracy.

When it comes to the price, £30m is Brighton's range. Once you go above that, the wages go out of our league or the player is more "complete" and thus looked at by yer big boys

 

[phoenix]

36M Euros so closer to 30M quid? If SOME of it was performance based I could see that fee being about right. Clubs won't sell to us without PL Premium.

Exactly the type of player we shirly need and not a household name who'd expect much higher than we could pay. Please make it happen!

If we purchased him from Ajax it would be a household name

 

[Johnny RoastBeef]

Would be nice to see a few videos where he is actually playing CB out of possession - they all seem to be him playing a CDM/CM role in attacking sequences - I’m not sure he has he even played CB at senior level has he?

How do you rate him as a CB? Good enough to play the central defender in a 3 man set up? I can‘t see anything to suggest he could naturally step straight into that role as some are suggesting.

His one touch passing is excellent btw

until Hurzeler became assistant coach at FCSP Smith was only used as a DM, only then did he convert to the hybrid CB.

Looking at Wieffer's defensive action stats, he's undoubtedly more suited to that role than anyone we already have.

 

[Han Solo]

He fits the bill of a ball playing CB/DMC hybrid. Lewis Dunk meets Davy Pröpper.
He is a little too slow for my liking though, and he'll be even slower in the Premier League. Interesting player and interesting type of player but I imagine there should be something a little sexier out there.

 

[Zeberdi]

until Hurzeler became assistant coach at FCSP Smith was only used as a DM, only then did he convert to the hybrid CB.

Well of course - the role wasn’t there before Hürzeler took over. It was the role I was referring to in Hürzeler’s system not who Smith was as a player before Hürzeler.

I agree he is probably closer to anyone else at the moment on paper but I think he has some weaknesses in his defensive play and has no experience of playing a CB at the pace he will need, especially against some of the more highly agile forwards in the EPL. Is he fit at the moment? - He missed the end of last season with a ‘thigh problem’ so condition could be an issue - He ticks a lot of boxes potentially but I can’t see him just stepping into a CB hybrid role without some disciplined development training, (that Hürzeler could provide). Happy to wait and see what he can do at our level but yes - even if he ends up being a rotating player for Billy Gilmour or Gross, he’d be a great addition to the squad.