Brighton make U-turn on defender stance - Failed to secure desired sale
· Pedro Reinert · 2026-08-13T18:14:24+00:00 · nguồn gốc
Brighton have changed their stance on Igor Julio’s future, opening the door to a loan after spending months pushing exclusively for a permanent sale.
That represents quite a turnaround in a transfer saga which has already taken several directions this summer. The Seagulls wanted around €6m (£5.2m) for the Brazilian and previously rejected approaches which fell short of their demands.
With no sufficiently attractive permanent offer arriving, Brighton are now prepared to consider a different solution.
According to ESPN Brazil, the Premier League side currently view a loan “favourably”, potentially making Igor Julio’s departure considerably easier before the window closes.
German negotiations now underway
Igor Julio already has another possible destination on the table. Bruno Andrade reports the 28-year-old is currently negotiating with a German club. The identity of that side isn’t revealed.
That’s worth stressing given Igor Julio’s previous talks with Schalke 04 earlier this summer. That move ultimately failed of course, and the latest report doesn’t say Schalke are the German club now negotiating for him. But could be a hint.
Should the current talks fail to progress, the change in Brighton’s position could send the defender back towards Brazil. Both Cruzeiro and Botafogo have explored a deal in recent months, when a loan wasn’t an option.
Brighton change removes previous obstacle
Botafogo recently made an enquiry for Igor Julio, but those discussions cooled because Brighton only wanted a permanent transfer. That particular obstacle has now disappeared.
Cruzeiro went considerably further earlier in the window. They made an offer after identifying the defender as a priority for then-manager Artur Jorge, but couldn’t reach Brighton’s asking price of around €6m (£5.2m).
At that stage, the Seagulls showed little appetite for finding a temporary solution. Months without the permanent deal they wanted have clearly changed the calculation.
Igor Julio has also made his own priority clear. Speaking recently about his future, he said he simply wanted to play regularly again, whether that happened at Brighton or elsewhere.
The German negotiations currently offer one possible route towards that. If they don’t work out, Brighton’s U-turn means clubs in Brazil can return to the table under very different conditions from those they encountered earlier in the summer.