Brighton teenager Younes Ibrahim emerges as Egypt senior team target

Younes Ibrahim has been added to the plans of Egypt’s national teams, with the 18-year-old Brighton player under consideration for head coach Hossam Hassan’s senior squad.

Ibrahim was named among Brighton’s substitutes for their 5-0 victory over Coventry City in the fourth round of the English league. He is eligible to be called up for Egypt’s next senior-team camp if he can be persuaded to represent the country in the coming days.

He was close to joining Wael Riyad’s Egypt Under-20 side last year after impressing for Brighton’s youth teams, but the cancellation of the planned camp prevented that move.

Egypt are preparing to face Angola and South Sudan in the Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, as well as South Africa in a friendly, during the September and October camps.

Ibrahim’s inclusion in Brighton’s first-team squad makes him the second Egyptian player to appear on an English league squad list this season after Omar Marmoush, who recently joined Tottenham.

Ibrahim’s rapid rise at Brighton

Born in 2008, Ibrahim joined Brighton’s academy in 2024. He progressed from the Under-18 side to the Under-21 team before earning involvement with the senior squad this season.

In October, Wasim Ahmed, a member of the Egyptian Football Association’s Professional Players Committee, described Ibrahim as “a special player and a new discovery for Egyptian football”.

“He holds four nationalities: Egyptian through his parents, Moroccan through his grandmother, as well as Australian and English,” Ahmed said.

He added that Riyad had contacted the player after coordination with him and that Egypt had moved early to secure his international future.

“We are targeting his inclusion in an Egypt camp with Wael Riyad soon,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed also highlighted Ibrahim’s performances for Brighton’s Under-18 team, saying he had scored two free-kicks against Arsenal from three attempts. A left-footed attacking midfielder, Ibrahim is also regarded as an accomplished set-piece taker.

“Three days later, he scored three goals against Birmingham one from a corner, another from a penalty and the third from open play,” Ahmed said. “He was promoted to the Under-21 team and scored the winning goal in a friendly.”

OneFootball described Ibrahim as “a skilful left-footed player, an excellent dribbler and extremely elegant”, adding that his ability was impossible to overlook.

A youth scouting account previously called him a promising midfield talent who already plays above his age group, including for Brighton’s Under-21 side in Premier League 2, the English League Cup and international youth competitions.

The account said Ibrahim was comfortable receiving the ball under pressure, remained calm and showed tactical discipline, qualities that suited Brighton’s model of intelligent, press-resistant midfielders. It added that he was still developing physically and in the final third, but that his involvement in first-team training at 18 suggested significant long-term potential.

This season, Ibrahim scored and assisted in a Premier League 2 draw with Arsenal in late August. He then scored during 45 minutes against Leicester City before his first appearance in the American league.

His progress led Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler to place him on the bench. His next steps will determine when he makes his English league debut and whether he joins Egypt’s senior squad.