Brighton have now found the next step for wonderkid Matías Orozco, with the Colombian midfielder set to spend his first season in Europe in Spain.
The Seagulls are close to sending the 18-year-old to CD Castellón on loan until June 2027.
Crucially, there will be no purchase option. Brighton clearly want Orozco back once his first year of European football is complete.
Pipe Sierra says only minor details remain before the move is completed, with Orozco beginning his medical on deadline day. The rush is now on to get everything done in time for Castellón to register him.
Brighton choose Spain for Orozco’s development
A loan had been expected since Brighton agreed to sign Orozco from Deportivo Cali. We previously covered the Premier League side planned to send him elsewhere to accumulate minutes and continue his development.
What wasn’t clear was where. We got the first part of that answer when Sierra revealed Orozco would play in Spain during the 2026/27 season.
He travelled with his agent, Leonardo Daza, ahead of a medical and the signing of his loan contract. Sierra and journalist Julián Capera have now revealed Castellón are the club Brighton have chosen.
Capera says the idea is for Orozco to “continue his development process” in Spain. Castellón are currently playing in Spain’s second division. Their previous stint in first division was in 1990/91.
Last season they finished 6th in La Liga 2 and reached the promotion playoffs, but Almería got the best of them in the first round. Maybe Orozco can provide that difference this time.
First European season will be spent elsewhere
Again, there’s no option for Castellón to turn it into a permanent transfer next summer. Orozco gets his first taste of European football and, ideally, regular senior minutes in the Mediterranean coast. Brighton then get him back in June and can assess where he stands.
So Castellón will now be responsible for that first stage, provided the remaining paperwork is completed before the Spanish deadline.
If everything goes to plan, Brighton’s new wonderkid will have an interest development season in eastern Spain before coming back to England in 2027.
