Who is Stefanos Tzimas? Brighton’s new star striker compared to Benjamin Sesko

10 goals in 17 games 

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Brighton raised a few eyebrows on Monday morning when they completed an intriguing deadline day transfer with the signing of young striker Stefanos Tzimas. The 19-year-old forward had spent the first half of the season on loan at Nuremberg, who had an option to buy Tzimas. The German club took that option, before then promptly selling the young goalscorer on to their Premier League counterparts. In a deal worth a reported €26 million, Tzimas will stay on loan in the German second tier until the end of the season before making the move to the Premier League in the summer. 

“Stefanos is an exceptional young talent, an out-and-out centre-forward with a natural ability to score goals, and we are absolutely delighted to have signed him,” said Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler in a club statement. “He will join up with us in the summer, ahead of next season, but we are really looking forward to working with him, and feel he has a very exciting future ahead.” Club technical director David Weir added: “He will spend the second half of the season with Nuremburg, who have provided him with an excellent opportunity this season, to continue his development in the Bundesliga 2. We will keep a close eye on his progress, and wish him the very best for the second half of the season with Nuremburg.” 

Who is Stefanos Tzimas?

After making his debut for PAOK at an extremely young age, Tzimas took to senior football in Greece with relative ease and bagged an impressive four goals and one assist in just 438 minutes of football for the first team. The 2.Bundesliga side then picked him up last summer on the aforementioned loan deal, which initially raised some eyebrows considering the relatively large transfer fee that Nuremberg were expected to pay at the end of the season. But after picking up 10 goals and two assists in 17 appearances for the club so far this season, it’s clear to see why the German side had no concerns with paying €18m for his talents and why Liverpool are now desperate to sign him. “Tzimas has done exceptionally well in the 2.Bundesliga,” said Tobias Kröger, Transfermarkt’s market value admin for the Bundesliga. “He surprised a lot of fans as nobody really knew what to expect but he has been really outstanding for a struggling Nuremberg Team. There were early reports about interested teams earlier in the season and you can see why, because he adapted really fast to the league and showed his potential continuously.” 

So far this season Tzimas has played up front as a traditional No.9, but he has been known to play off the left wing at youth level at PAOK or for the youth teams of the Greece national team. And for Kröger there is one Bundesliga star in particular that the young Brighton signing reminds him of. “He reminds me a lot of Benjamin Sesko,” noted the German football expert. “He has a really interesting all around package for a striker: He’s good in the air but also quick for his height. He is good at making runs into open spaces but is also clinical in one-vs-one situations with the keeper. His link-up play is also very good. His technique is also very good but not elite.”

Of course, scoring goals in Greece or indeed the German second tier is one thing, but making a move to the Premier League and fighting for a starting role in Brighton’s starting XI is another thing entirely. So what could English fans expect of the young striker next season and does he really have the potential to be the leading man for the Premier League club in the future? “I think he has a lot of potential and could be a top striker in the future but I also think that he really needs more experience at a higher level,” warned Kröger when asked about his move to England next season. “A big step up to a top club would be too early I guess. If he can adapt his game to a higher level in the next two or three years he could develop into a very good striker.” As such, it seems more than likely that when Tzimas makes the move to England this summer, a loan agreement to send him to another club next season will be more than likely. But then, perhaps after two or three years honing his craft in the Bundesliga, Ligue 1 or LaLiga, Tzimas may finally be of age to star for Brighton and become their next top striker.