Brighton’s Belgian flyer is the left-sided answer we keep circling, but January is a closed door
Every so often a name crops up in the rumour mill and you find yourself nodding along before you have even finished the paragraph. Maxim De Cuyper is one of those. The Brighton defender ticks so many of the boxes Liverpool should be looking at on the left side of the pitch that it would be more surprising if the recruitment team were not keeping an eye on him. The catch, and it is a big one, is that Brighton have no interest whatsoever in letting him go this winter.
According to TeamTalk, the Seagulls value the 25-year-old at roughly €60m, which works out at around £50m, and they are not prepared to entertain a sale in the January window. Liverpool are said to be one of several clubs tracking his progress, but the message from the south coast is clear enough. If you want him, come back in the summer, and bring a serious offer.
Why De Cuyper fits what we need
Let us start with the player, because that is where the excitement comes from. De Cuyper arrived at Brighton from Club Brugge in the summer of 2025 for €20m and has settled into English football with very little fuss. He is a left-back by trade, but Fabian Hürzeler has nudged him further up the pitch this season, and the results speak for themselves. Two goals and three assists from ten Premier League outings is a healthy return for anyone operating in a wide role, let alone someone who started life as a full-back.
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That versatility is the real selling point for us. Modern Liverpool sides have always leaned heavily on the output of their full-backs, and the ability to drop into a back four one week and push on as a wide midfielder or wing-back the next gives a head coach options. Andoni Iraola likes his teams to press with intensity and attack the flanks quickly, so a player who can cover ground, defend his channel and still arrive in the box looks like a natural fit for the way we want to play.
The squad picture only strengthens the case. Milos Kerkez has not hit the heights many expected since his move to Anfield, and his form has drawn plenty of questions. Kostas Tsimikas, meanwhile, looks set to walk away as a free agent next summer. That leaves the left side of the defence looking a little thin heading into 2027, and TeamTalk go as far as describing the Reds as being in real need of reinforcement there. It is hard to argue with that assessment.
Brighton hold every card
Now for the reality check. Brighton are not the club they used to be in the eyes of the market. For years they were seen as a smart selling outfit, happy to bank big fees and reinvest, and the rest of the league queued up accordingly. That perception is shifting. Tony Bloom and his team want to back Hürzeler, and with Champions League qualification firmly on their radar this season, they have no appetite for weakening the squad mid-campaign.
De Cuyper’s contract also gives them all the leverage they could want. He is tied down until June 2030, so there is no ticking clock forcing their hand, no awkward conversation about losing him cheaply. When a club is doing well, has its player locked in for the long term and faces no financial pressure to sell, the price only goes one way.
It is worth stressing that, as things stand, this is very much an exploratory situation. The report makes it clear there is no sign of a formal approach from any club yet, and no talks with the player’s representatives have taken place. Watching a player closely and actually moving for him are two very different things, and Liverpool are firmly in the first camp for now.
A crowded field of admirers
We are also not alone in liking what we see. AC Milan, Roma, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are all reported to be monitoring De Cuyper’s development. Milan in particular have history here. They were keen on him in the summer of 2025 as a possible long-term successor to Theo Hernández, only for the Belgian to choose Brighton instead. That sort of interest rarely disappears, and it would be no surprise to see the Italians return once the window opens in the summer.
Competition like that tends to push a fee upward and gives Brighton even more room to dictate terms. If three or four major clubs are all sniffing around come 2027, the £50m figure being floated now could well look like the starting point rather than the ceiling.
Interestingly, De Cuyper is not the only Brighton player Liverpool have reportedly been watching. Goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen has also been mentioned as a possible long-term successor to Alisson Becker. It suggests the scouting team are looking closely at the Amex Stadium, which makes sense given how well Brighton have developed talent in recent years.
Our take: patience is the play
We like this one. A lot. A left-sided player who defends honestly, contributes in the final third and can be deployed in more than one role is precisely the profile Liverpool should be targeting, and the early signs suggest De Cuyper is still improving. If he keeps this up for the rest of the season, he will be one of the most sought-after wide defenders in Europe by the time the summer arrives.
But £50m is a lot of money, and the key question for the club is where he sits on the list. If the recruitment team truly believe he is the one to own that left flank for the next five or six years, then the fee becomes easier to justify. If he is simply one option among several, then waiting to see how the market develops, and how Kerkez responds over the coming months, feels like the more sensible route.
What we can say with some confidence is that January is a non-starter. Brighton have no reason to sell, the player is thriving, and forcing a mid-season deal would mean paying well over the odds. The smarter move is to keep watching, keep building the relationship, and be ready to act decisively when the summer window opens.
It is encouraging, though, that Liverpool’s name is attached to a player like this so early. It suggests the people in charge of recruitment under Iraola are already mapping out where the squad needs freshening up, rather than scrambling at the last minute. That is exactly how it should be. De Cuyper may or may not end up at Anfield, but the thinking behind the interest feels sound, and that is a positive sign in itself.