Brighton transfer turnover in January will not be major, says Chris Hughton

Friday 29 December 2017 15:47, UK

Brighton boss Chris Hughton is not expecting a huge turnover of players during January's transfer window.

Many supporters and pundits feel Hughton should sign a striker to boost the team's firepower, with Albion having netted only 15 goals in their 20 Premier League games so far this season.

However, Hughton refused to say whether or not a forward will be his main target during the early weeks of 2018.

The south coast club are currently 12th in the table and, when asked if a striker was his priority during the transfer window, Hughton answered: "Not necessarily.

"What we do have is an obligation to finish January with the best squad we can.

"We've done fairly well, we probably surprised ourselves a little bit with a very good period and then had a more difficult period.

"So anything we do will be minimal. The striker has been mentioned more because of the summer, and most people are aware we tried in the summer and weren't able to.

"But any move for a striker would have to be right for this club to do anything."

Hughton returns to St James' Park this weekend when the Seagulls face Newcastle.

The 59-year-old managed the Magpies between June 2009 and December 2010 and, speaking about Saturday's fixture on Tyneside, he added: "It was the club which gave me my first opportunity to manage.

"And that's something I'm always very grateful for, it will always hold a special place.

"I've been back on a couple of occasions since and it's always enjoyable to go back there, but mostly you want to go back and play well enough to get a result.