---
title: "Total Duds: Jurgen Locadia tailed off badly after a promising start at Brighton"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/brighton-jurgen-locadia-transfer-flops/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "Brighton & Hove Albion"
published: "2020-08-08T15:30:33Z"
modified: "2020-08-08T15:30:33Z"
---

# Total Duds: Jurgen Locadia tailed off badly after a promising start at Brighton

**This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.**

Brighton appear to have pulled a rabbit from the hat with their recent signing of [Joel Veltman](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/brighton-news/brighton-sign-joel-veltman-transfer-potter-duffy/) from Ajax, with the defender moving to the Amex Stadium for a reported fee of just £900,000 (as per [The Telegraph](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2020/07/29/brighton-sign-holland-star-joel-veltman-ajax-surprise-900000/)).

The 28-year-old is not the first player that the Seagulls have plucked from the Eredivisie, although not all of their Dutch acquisitions have worked out as they would have liked.

## How much did Jurgen Locadia cost Brighton?

In January 2018, they [broke their club record transfer fee](https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/2018/january/albion-break-transfer-record-for-striker/) to sign Jurgen Locadia from PSV Eindhoven in a deal worth £15.3m, according to [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/transfers/spieler/166240). The forward had been enjoying a strong season at the Philips Stadion, with [nine goals in 15 league games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/166240) prompting Chris Hughton to sign him for Brighton.

The early signs were good, with the Dutchman scoring on his debuts in both the FA Cup (against Coventry) and Premier League (against Swansea), although those would be his [only two goals](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/166240) in his first half-season in England.

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Indeed, the FA Cup would be kind to Locadia, who [scored twice](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/166240/plus/0/saison/2018/wettbewerb/FAC/verein/1237) in the Seagulls’ run to the semi-finals in 2019 along with netting in the penalty shoot-out triumph over Millwall which took them to Wembley.

However, the Premier League was proving a far tougher nut to crack. Even though he featured in 26 league games in the 2018/19 season, more than half of those were as a substitute, with his only two goals in the division that term coming in quick succession over the festive period, sandwiched by long barren spells for the beleaguered forward (as per [TransferMarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/166240/plus/0/saison/2018/wettbewerb/GB1/verein/1237)).

### Locadia’s loan exits from Brighton

After Graham Potter replaced Hughton in May 2019, the current Brighton manager gave Locadia just [two outings](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/leistungsdaten/spieler/166240) before deciding to loan him out to Hoffenheim and then FC Cincinnati, with a combined total of [six goals in 14 games](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/166240) for those two clubs as many as he has scored in [43 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jurgen-locadia/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/166240/verein/1237) for the Seagulls.

A lowly return of six goals following his £15.3m move to the Amex works out at an unflattering average of £2.55m spent for each goal that he has plundered for Brighton – not exactly the return that would have been expected when they spent a then-club record fee on him back in 2018.

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Cincinnati have an [option to sign Locadia permanently](https://www.fccincinnati.com/post/2020/02/03/jurgen-locadia-acquired-loan-designated-player) at the end of his loan deal and, given his struggles in Sussex, it should come as no great surprise if he would prefer to remain Stateside.

***Brighton fans, how much of a disappointment has Locadia been for the Seagulls? Comment below with your views!***