Brighton has confirmed the signing of defender Diego Coppola from Hellas Verona, the second addition of the Seagulls in the summer transfer window.
Coppola, who currently represents Italy at the European Championships under 21 in Slovakia, has written a five -year -old deal with the side of Fabian Hurzeler.
The 21-year-old has made 81 performances in the Serie A since his debut in January 2022, making his senior debut for the Italian national team against Norway earlier this month.
Coppola made 34 performances in the Italian flight last season and scored two goals while Hellas Verona ended the 14th campaign, six points above the relegation zone.
And Hurzeler, head coach of Brighton, is looking forward to working with Coppola and believes that he can further improve during his time with the seagulls.
“Diego is an exciting addition to the club,” Hurzeler said the official Brighton website.
“Although he is still young, he is long, strong and mobile and will give us a real physical presence.
“He has made impressive progress in the Serie A and earned his call to the Italian national team. We look forward to helping him develop even more.”
The defender follows teenage attacker Charalampos Kostoulas through the doors at the Amex after completing a reported £ 29.8 million relocation from Olympiakos last week.
A message from our newest recruit! pic.twitter.com/8zwwmoujsz
– Brighton & Hove Albion (@officialbhafc) 17 June 2025
When comparing Coppola's 2024-25 League campaign with Lewis Dunk van Brighton and Jan Paul van Hecke, it is clear that he will offer various strong points for Hurzeler in defense.
Coppola had a success rate of 54.5% in the Serie A, almost 10% lower than that of Van Hecke (64.4%) but only slightly lower than the total total of Dunk of 58.8%.
The duel budget rates of the three Center backs are very similar, with only 1.5% separating the defenders.
However, the big difference is in the intercepting category. Coppola intercepted the possession 72 times the last campaign, much more than Van Hecke (24) and Dunk (13).
Coppola indeed had more interceptions last year than any other player in Europe's top five competitions.