Hadjam set for Brighton move as Young Boys exit looms

Jaouen Hadjam is edging towards Brighton – and on Sunday in Switzerland, it felt like everyone knew it.

The Algeria international was kept out of the firing line as Young Boys beat Vaduz 4-2, left sitting on the bench and unused while his team-mates did the work. For a player who had started their previous games, the message was hard to miss.

Young Boys head coach Gerardo Seoane had already planted the seed in midweek, questioning how focused the 23-year-old could be “when he is on the verge of a potential transfer.” On Sunday, his team sheet backed up those words.

Hadjam is widely expected to join Albion in a deal worth around £10 million, a move that would take him from the Swiss champions to the Premier League and into one of the most tactically flexible back lines in England.

After the final whistle in Bern, he did not rush down the tunnel. Instead, he lingered.

The full-back spent about 15 minutes signing autographs and posing for photos, working his way along the edge of the pitch with a calm, unhurried air. He often makes time for supporters, but this felt different. This looked and sounded like a goodbye.

Hadjam arrives with pedigree. A product of Paris FC, he moved to Nantes and then joined Young Boys in time to help them secure the 2023-24 Swiss title. At international level, he already has 21 caps for Algeria, operating mainly at left-back but comfortable on the right as well.

That versatility fits neatly with what Brighton have built.

Last season, Ferdi Kadioglu was outstanding on the left, so good he ended up with player of the year honours. He, too, can switch flanks when required. Maxim De Cuyper offers another option at left-back, though his early Premier League outings have arguably suggested an even stronger impact higher up the pitch.

Drop Hadjam into that mix and Brighton suddenly have a full-back unit that can flip sides, change roles and reshape games in real time.

For now, he remains a Young Boys player, officially at least. But on Sunday, as he waved, smiled and posed for one last round of photos, it felt like his next chapter – on England’s south coast – had already begun.