Costinha, full name Joao Pedro Loureiro da Costa, joins Brighton as a result of extensive data analysis and scouting from the club’s impressive recruitment model.
Having been targeted since January, the 26-year-old is likely to start the season as back-up to Joel Veltman at right-back. Veltman is in talks to extend a contract that expires at the end of this month.
Adding depth is particularly important in a year when Brighton have qualified for the Conference League. The defender, who is said to speak English, also knows 19-year-old striker Charalampos Kostoulas from their time together at Olympiacos.
It was at the Greek club that Costinha reinvented himself, converting from a winger into a physically powerful right-back – a move that helped him flourish.
Olympiacos gave Costinha experience of playing in the Champions League and chances to win multiple titles in Greece.
However, he was a late bloomer and moved between several academies – Cavaloes, Aveleda, Porto and Braga, as well as a loan spell at Palmeiras – before joining Rio Ave, where he made his breakthrough aged 20 in the Portuguese top flight.
The cousin of former Watford defender Joao Ferreira, Costinha is from Povoa de Varzim, a fishing and resort town just north of Porto, and is the first permanent Portuguese signing in Brighton’s history.