Jason Ayto leaves Brighton after nine months as sporting director

Jason Ayto has left Brighton & Hove Albion after just nine months as sporting director. The move comes before his first summer transfer window at the club, with Mike Cave now overseeing all sporting areas and reporting to chief executive Paul Barber. Brighton had only brought Ayto in during September 2025.

Brighton’s sporting reset

Ayto became Brighton’s first sporting director in September 2025, replacing technical director David Weir as the club reshaped its senior structure. Weir later took the technical director role at Strasbourg, while Brighton promoted Cave from assistant technical director to technical director when Weir left and Ayto arrived.

That left Ayto working with Cave on Brighton’s transfer business, but the responsibility has now shifted fully to Cave. He will handle all sporting areas of the club with the existing senior team, a change that lands just as the summer transfer window is set to open on June 15.

Ayto’s short Brighton spell

The 41-year-old arrived after leaving Arsenal last summer, ending 11 years at the club. His time there included roles as a scout, assistant technical director and interim sporting director, and he had been viewed as a strong contender for Arsenal’s permanent sporting director job before Andrea Berta was appointed.

At Brighton, his run ended before he could oversee a single summer window in the role. That makes the handover to Cave immediate rather than gradual, with the club moving into a key recruitment period under a different lead voice.

Tony Bloom’s statement

On Wednesday, Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said: “I’d like to thank Jason for everything he has done for us, and to wish him well for the future.”

For Brighton, the practical change is clear: Cave now carries the sporting workload into June 15, while Ayto exits after a brief spell that started with the club’s senior structure being redrawn and ended before the transfer market opened.