Neel Shelat continues our Transfer Gurus series with a look at BHAWFC’s Edward Gallagher, a rare example of a specialist player recruitment manager in women’s football
Brighton & Hove Albion’s men’s team have built quite a reputation for themselves in recent years. Their consistent success in finding undervalued starlets in the transfer market has deservedly led to their recruitment being regarded as one of the very best in the world of football.
Naturally, theirs is a model others look to replicate. The ideas behind their approach are pretty straightforward, but it is difficult to execute without the right sort of expertise and support. Perhaps that is why few teams have been able to follow suit, but success stories are starting to emerge within the Seagulls’ network. Sister club Royale Union Saint-Gilloise’s recruitment has arguably been even more interesting in recent years, and now, Brighton’s women’s team are also getting in on the act.
The women’s team’s emphasis on recruitment is quite evident from the makeup of their staff. Besides a managing director, they have hired a specific player recruitment manager – a role that is seemingly nonexistent at the majority of Women’s Super League clubs. The person currently holding that post is Edward Gallagher, a man with over a decade of experience in women’s football.
Gallagher started off as a coach in Scotland in 2010, spending a couple of years at a grassroots club by the name of Rossvale FC before taking up a position as the goalkeeping coach for Rangers’ women’s team. After a couple of stints in Finland and US college soccer, he took up his first managerial position back in Scotland in charge of Celtic’s girls’ academy. In 2020, he moved to London City Lionesses as their sporting director. After that, he spent nearly a year as a scout for the Scottish women’s national team before joining Brighton in his current position in March 2023.
Brighton’s Previous Reliance on Established Markets
Ever since they joined the Women’s Super League in 2018, Brighton have largely been a lower-half team. With just one relegation spot in the league, though, they have hardly ever been seriously threatened by the drop. So, they have had a relatively comfortable top-flight existence and an opportunity to experiment, if they so desired.
In their first few years, though, the Seagulls did not stand out in terms of their recruitment. They stuck to the established markets in the league by making most of their signings from fellow WSL clubs, English Championship sides, or the major Scandinavian leagues. Occasionally, they ventured out to another major European league club or the United States, but that was about it. In fact, between 2018 and 2022, they only brought in two players from elsewhere – namely Australian defender Rebekah Scott and South Korean midfielder Park Ye-eun, both from their domestic leagues.
This is not to say that Brighton did not make any interesting moves at all in this period. They used the Scandinavian market particularly well on many occasions, making signings that have gone on to be quite successful. A great example is Norwegian defender Guro Bergsvand, who joined the club from Stabæk in 2023 and has played every single minute in the WSL since the start of the 2023/24. Her compatriot Elisabeth Terland enjoyed a stellar season up front after coming in hot from Brann, earning a move to Manchester United after just one season on the south coast.
Overall, the Seagulls’ relatively simplistic approach can at least partly be explained by the lack of strong markets in other parts of the world at the time. In most places, women’s football was (and still is) facing challenges around professionalisation, making it quite difficult for promising young talents to break through at the senior level. Data and footage were also tough to come by, so scouting networks were difficult to establish. Things have been heading in the right direction of late, so Brighton have had opportunities to explore other markets.
Expanding Global Recruitment
Indeed, Brighton have significantly expanded their horizons in the last couple of seasons. Their current squad is one of the most diverse in the league with players from 13 different nationalities, including members of every confederation bar Oceania.
Their signings for the 2023/24 season reflected this shift in approach quite clearly, as the Seagulls recruited players from eight different leagues. These included new markets such as Australia, Brazil, and China as well as a good chunk from more established leagues and teams.
| Player (Age at the time) | Previous club |
| Pauline Bremer (27) | Wolfsburg |
| Madison Haley (24) | Sydney FC |
| Vicky Losada (32) | AS Roma |
| Mackenzie Hawkesby (23) | Sydney FC |
| Charlie Rule (20) | Sydney FC |
| Maria Thorisdóttir (30) | Manchester United |
| Tatiana Pinto (29) | Levante UD |
| Li Mengwen (24) | Jiangsu FC |
| Jorelyn Carabalí (26) | Atlético Mineiro |
| Sophie Baggaley (26) | Manchester United |
| Melina Loeck (23) | Kristianstads DFF |
(Brighton & Hove Albion’s permanent signings in 2023/24.)
Interestingly, the pattern of arrivals from fellow big five league clubs also changed. Previously, Brighton made signings from sides like Everton, Milan, and Guingamp, but in this window, they managed to bring in players from title contenders such as Wolfsburg, Roma, and Manchester United. From the outside, it is tough to ascertain how exactly they were able to pull this off, but one could imagine that increased investment and a clearer project likely motivated these players to leave a more established club for what still was a lower-table WSL side.
Indeed, it was those more experienced players from top clubs who have gone on to be the most valuable signings. Vicky Losada is the club captain, Sophie Baggaley has been Brighton’s first-choice goalkeeper after coming in, Pauline Bremer regularly starts up front, and Maria Thorisdóttir has also been a key presence in defence prior to a recent injury. These players have formed the backbone of the side, allowing Brighton to take more chances on youngsters in the remaining positions.
Among the others, Jorelyn Carabalí is the only clear-cut success so far as a regular fixture in Brighton’s back line this term. Their triple signings from Sydney FC had to be considered prudent at the time as the A-League remains a promising and growing market, but none of them has quite worked out. Li Mengwen’s arrival from the Chinese Women’s Super League was another very interesting move and could yet prove to be a success in the long run, but she is currently spending the season on loan at West Ham United.
Even so, the 2023/24 season went alright for Brighton. While their attempted undervalued signings did not quite yield the rewards they might have been hoping for and they could only finish 9th in the league, they now had an experienced core to build on. So, for 2024/25, they had the opportunity to bring in even more younger and/or undervalued talents.
| Player (Age at the time) | Previous club |
| Fran Kirby (31) | Chelsea |
| Marisa Olislagers (23) | FC Twente |
| Marit Auée (22) | FC Twente |
| Rachel McLauchlan (27) | Rangers |
| Hannah Poulter (19) | USC Trojans |
| Rebecca Rayner (24) | Sheffield United |
| Kiko Seike (27) | Urawa Red Diamonds |
| Aisha Masaka (20) | BK Häcken |
| Jelena ?ankovi? (28) | Chelsea |
| Nikita Parris (30) | Manchester United |
(Brighton & Hove Albion’s permanent signings in the 2024 summer transfer window.)
The Seagulls still brought in a few older players from WSL giants Chelsea and Manchester United, who have all added further quality and experience to the squad. They did not make any other signings from the big five European leagues, though, instead going as far as Japan and the NCAA.
The pick of the bunch certainly was Japanese international Kiko Seike, who came in straight from Japanese champions Urawa Red Diamonds. She clearly was a class apart in the WE League and made an instant impact in the WSL, scoring a hat-trick on her debut.
Another interesting attacking signing was Aisha Masaka from BK Häcken. The 20-year-old winger had consistently shown promising signs for the Swedish giants, so she seemed just the kind of player Brighton would like to bring in. Unfortunately, she sustained an injury on her WSL debut and therefore is yet to make a noteworthy impact.
Besides them, Dutch duo Marisa Olislagers and Marit Auée came in from FC Twente. The former has managed to hit the ground running, with 10 WSL appearances already under her belt at the time of writing.
Relatively more experienced Scottish centre back also looks like a good signing from Rangers as her profile aligns with the Seagulls’ increasingly possession-based approach.
Speaking of Brighton’s style of play, perhaps the most important signing they made in the summer was head coach Dario Vidošic. He joined from A-League side Melbourne City, whom he led to the premiership in his very first full season in charge (having taken over from his father Rado the year before). The former Australian international was likely selected for his heavily possession-based style of play, which he has attempted to replicate to a significant extent at Brighton.
So far, his appointment seems to be going pretty well. While Brighton’s potentially excessive bravery on the ball has led to them receiving some thrashings from the table-toppers, they themselves have scored emphatic victories over teams lower down the table. As a result, they are currently up in fifth place and on course for their best-ever WSL finish.
Opportunities Abound
Brighton certainly have picked the right time to ramp up global player recruitment. Women’s football is on the rise all over the world right now, as 2024 was the first year with official continental club competitions held in every confederation. With a FIFA Women’s Club World Cup reportedly set to be launched in the near future, this growth is sure to continue.
From Mexico and Colombia to Japan and Australia, opportunities to make the kinds of shrewd signings the Seagulls like are popping up in all corners of the world. Their recent success stories will only serve to make them an even more attractive destination for such players, so it should not be long before the Broadfield Stadium becomes just as much of a launchpad for promising careers as the Amex Stadium.
One big difference between men’s and women’s football in this context is transfer fees. While such a model can yield big profits through smart buying and selling in men’s football, the figures in the women’s game are relatively quite paltry. However, as 14 of the 15 highest transfer fees in women’s football were paid in the last couple of years, there is reason to believe that this is slowly changing. By making the right moves in transfer windows, Brighton could well start generating some revenue this way.
Regardless, their approach already seems to be yielding rewards on the pitch so they surely are on the right track. Given the club’s general track record, it is tough imagine Brighton getting derailed from here.
Stats courtesy Soccerdonna and Fbref
Header image copyright IMAGO / Claire Jeffrey SPP
