As the summer 2026 Premier League transfer window drew to a dramatic close, Brighton & Hove Albion pulled off two high-profile deadline-day acquisitions, locking in Nigerian winger Femi Azeez from Championship side Millwall and Spanish young defensive midfielder Chema Andres from Bundesliga club Stuttgart in a combined deal worth almost £28 million before extended administrative deadlines expired. The capture of Azeez comes after weeks of prolonged negotiations, with Millwall rejecting at least three previous offers from the Seagulls before the sides agreed on an initial fee of £12.5 million that can climb above £15 million through performance-based add-ons. This transfer marks a historic exit for Millwall, as it stands as the highest-value sale in the club’s history.
The 25-year-old winger, who earned a spot in the 2025/26 PFA Championship Team of the Year after an outstanding breakout season that saw him net 11 goals and provide 8 assists across 37 competitive appearances, has signed a four-year contract with Brighton. Azeez, who had long publicly targeted a move to the top flight of English football, becomes Brighton’s 11th new arrival of what has been a frenzied summer transfer window for the south coast club. This window has already included the club’s record-breaking £45 million capture of Croatian centre-back Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham Hotspur.
Azeez first joined Millwall from Reading for roughly £1 million in 2024, and made a total of 77 first-team appearances during his two-year stay at the Den, leaving with two years still remaining on his original contract with the Championship club. Club officials confirmed that the negotiating teams submitted the required deal paperwork to the Football Association shortly before the 23:00 BST statutory transfer deadline on deadline day, and finalized all regulatory checks to complete the signing during the 2-hour extended administrative window that closed at 01:00 BST on Wednesday.
Not long after confirming Azeez’s transfer, Brighton announced a second major deadline-day signing: 21-year-old Spain Under-21 international Chema Andres, who joins from Stuttgart for an undisclosed fee confirmed to be £15.5 million, signing a five-year contract with the Seagulls. A product of Real Madrid’s renowned youth academy, Andres made his La Liga debut for Real Madrid’s first team in January 2025, before moving to Stuttgart that same summer. In his single season with the Bundesliga side, he went on to make 41 total first-team appearances and played a key role in helping the club secure qualification to the 2026/27 UEFA Champions League.
Brighton’s aggressive summer recruitment drive has been supported by a series of major player sales that generated substantial transfer revenue for the club. Most notably, top midfielder Carlos Baleba completed a £70 million move to Manchester United earlier in the window, freeing up significant funds for the Seagulls’ new signings. Fans can access exclusive pre-match, post-match and original analysis content about Brighton & Hove Albion through BBC Sounds, with dedicated subscription feeds for regular updates on the club.