Bradford City have suffered a blow with the news that Sahil Bashir has left the club to join Brighton, as reported by the Telegraph and Argus.

The youngster hasn't even been considered for the club's first-team yet but Brighton clearly like what they have seen in the midfielder and like his potential, as they have moved quickly to seal a deal for the player before he has even broken into the 25-man squad.

Bashir is also only just 16-years-old - and that means Brighton have likely had to pay compensation to steal him away from the League Two side because of his age. However, it will be a price worth paying for the Seagulls, as they quite clearly like the player and believe he has the potential to be even better later on down the line.

 

 

He likely won't be involved with the first-team squad at Brighton yet either because of his youth. However, he will link up with their reserve team immediately and his exposure to a higher quality of game and opponent in their reserve setup will likely help him come on in his development again and stand him in better stead as his career progresses.

Bradford then will be unhappy to lose one of their players - who seemingly has plenty of potential judging by this interest - before he has even managed to get into the first-team and shine for the club.

However, there could be a pretty penny to gain from this deal, with compensation likely to reach a six-figure fee.

The Verdict

There isn't a lot that can be said about Sahil Bashir in terms of his ability and whether he will have an impact at his new club because he is still only 16-years-old and those outside of both clubs who have not been to a reserve game will not have seen him play.

Based on the fact that Brighton have been willing to swoop in and sign him up though - and pay a fairly hefty compensation package in the process - means that the Seagulls must like what they see in the midfielder though. If they didn't think he had plenty of potential, then they wouldn't have been so hasty to get a deal done.

Bashir then must have plenty of talent and allowing him to play in a higher reserve league will help bring him on leaps and bounds. He's likely to stay in those reserves for a while yet but when he gets older, a loan move or some first-team exposure could help him even further.

For now though, this is definitely a signing for the future and he will have to be a name that Brighton keeps an eye out for in the next couple of seasons.