A career built on promotion

Svoboda began his footballing journey in Austria with Schwechat before moving to WSG Tirol, where he played a key role in winning promotion to the Austrian Bundesliga.

He transferred to Venezia in 2020 and went on to earn promotion to Serie A on two occasions — in 2021 and again last season. He made his senior Austria debut in October 2024 and has since accumulated four international caps.

Brighton's defensive rebuild gathers pace

Svoboda becomes Brighton's fifth addition ahead of the 2026-27 season, following the arrivals of winger Zadok Yohanna from AIK, centre-back Pascal Struijk from Leeds United, full-back Costinha from Olympiakos, and winger Rodrigo Rego from Benfica.

The Seagulls have also agreed a club-record £46 million deal to sign Croatia defender Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham Hotspur, as they reshape a backline that was significantly altered by the £52 million sale of Jan Paul van Hecke to Spurs.

Brighton had originally signed Van Hecke from NAC Breda for £1.8 million in 2020, negotiating a 20 percent sell-on clause that proved highly lucrative — a sharp piece of business that has helped fund their current recruitment drive.