Fabian Hurzeler entering the Premier League as its youngest-ever permanent manager/head coach, aged 31, adds to the unpredictable intrigue for what will be Brighton & Hove Albion’s eighth consecutive season in the top flight of English football.
They finished as low as 17th in the 20-team division and as high as sixth in those seven years under the previous leadership of Chris Hughton, Graham Potter and lastly Roberto De Zerbi. Can the German newcomer get them challenging for European qualification again? Or could this be the year consistently losing key players and staff members catches up with them?
The summer and pre-season have been…
Encouraging. The squad have bonded quickly under Hurzeler and adapted to his physically demanding methods. The two-game pre-season tour in Japan, which exploited the commercial value of Kaoru Mitoma on the winger’s return to his homeland, went well. Results in the five friendlies — all wins — have also been promising, although they will mean nothing once the real action starts away against Everton on Saturday.
Brighton before their friendly in Japan against Tokyo Verdy (Masashi Hara/Getty Images)Are they in a better place than last season?
On the face of it, yes.
That 2023-24 campaign was full of potential under De Zerbi up until Christmas, but it then unravelled with exits from the last 16 stages of the Europa League and the FA Cup in late February and early March, plus a drop in their final league position from sixth the previous year to 11th, with the caveat of lots of injuries.
The Italian’s two-season reign, ended by mutual consent at the end of the campaign, finished on a low ebb with one win in the last 10 games.
Ask me again in November — Hurzeler comes up against seven of last season’s final top eight in his first 11 league matches.
Which player are you most looking forward to watching?
Yankuba Minteh could be fun. Brighton would not ordinarily splash out £30million ($38.5m) on a teenager, but the 19-year-old Gambian winger signed from Newcastle United hit the ground running in pre-season.
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Yankuba Minteh to Brighton: The Athletic 500 transfer ratings
Having spent last season on loan to then-Dutch champions Feyenoord, where he got 11 goals and five assists in 33 appearances, Minteh showed a combination of speed, skill and finishing as he scored in both games in Japan. He also won Danny Welbeck’s decisive penalty away to Queens Park Rangers with the pressing intensity Hurzeler wants from his front players by pinching possession high up the pitch. An eye-catching start to his Brighton career in the warm-up programme was completed by another goal and an assist for Welbeck in the 4-0 home win against Villarreal last weekend.
Brighton taking a potential gem from a bigger club (it is normally the other way around) intensifies the intrigue.
Minteh in the friendly against Queens Park Rangers (Warren Little/Getty Images)The player with a point to prove is…
Striker Evan Ferguson was a revelation in his 2022-23 breakthrough season. The Republic of Ireland international prospect scored 10 goals and provided three assists in 25 appearances across all competitions. Six of those goals, and two of the assists, came in 19 outings in the Premier League.
Towards the end of that season, however, the teenager suffered an ankle injury against Chelsea, which contributed to a much tougher time in 2023-24. Ferguson’s output dropped to six goals and one assist in 36 outings, with his most recent goal coming in November.
He has undergone surgery on that ankle and worked hard throughout the season to get back up to speed, including a training camp with other injured team-mates in Spain. With a new head coach to impress and hot competition for places in the first-choice forward line, the 19-year-old will be hungry to return to top form.
Which player could have a breakout season?
Carlos Baleba was signed from French club Lille last summer in a package deal worth just under £26million as the replacement for Moises Caicedo, with the expectation it would take a bit of time for the 20-year-old from Cameroon to fulfil that objective following Caicedo’s British-record £115m move to Chelsea.
There were flashes of that promise in a total of 33 Premier League and Europa League appearances, along with examples that Baleba is still a raw novice, especially in his defensive positioning.
Baleba has been tried by Hurzeler during pre-season in the centre of defence and at left-back, as well as in central midfield. It could be that his potential is going to be unlocked in his second season.
Baleba wins a header against Japan’s Kashima Antlers (Yuichi Yamazaki/AFP/Getty Images)The deal they still need to do in this window
Sign another midfielder. When Brighton finished sixth to reach the 2023-24 Europa League under De Zerbi, they had Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, Pascal Gross and Billy Gilmour as central midfield options. Only Gilmour of that quartet is still at the club — and he is the subject of interest from Napoli.
Mats Wieffer appears to be a high-quality signing from Feyenoord, but Brighton still look a bit light in that area of the pitch, which explains the interest in Celtic’s Matt O’Riley.
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Mats Wieffer to Brighton: The Athletic 500 transfer ratings
Which Euro 2024 or Copa America player would be an ideal signing?
None at a realistic spending level. Brighton shy away from business based on tournament performances, believing too many mistakes are made by clubs taking that route. Performance levels at international competitions only become relevant for them in confirming the suitability of a player they already like.
Diego Gomez should have been at Copa America with Paraguay, but an ankle injury playing for MLS side Inter Miami in April ruled the 21-year-old out.
The addition of Gomez, a box-to-box midfielder with an eye for goal, in January will provide a mid-season boost if a proposed deal is sealed to complete his signing in this window, with him coming to the UK once the February-to-December MLS ends.
Gomez playing for Inter Miami in June (Johnnie Izquierdo/Getty Images)The game I’m most looking forward to is…
Liverpool, without Jurgen Klopp in charge for the first time in Brighton’s Premier League existence, away at the beginning of November.
It’ll be a game involving two of the five head coaches new to the league, with an added twist: Klopp’s successor, Arne Slot, had Brighton summer signings Wieffer and Minteh with him at Feyenoord last season.
Plus, Brighton have a good recent record at Anfield (a win and two draws in the last four visits).
The stat to watch out for this season
Hurzeler’s focus on set pieces has already been highlighted by The Athletic, so I will go instead for clean sheets. The German regards the biggest difference between his style and that of De Zerbi as a “balance between defensive stability and controlling the game”.
Only six teams had fewer than Brighton’s total of six shutouts in 38 league games last season and half of those got relegated, while St Pauli conceded the least goals and had the second-most possession as they were promoted to the 2024-25 Bundesliga under Hurzeler. The Premier League will be a sterner test of those elements of his style than 2.Bundesliga, of course.
New Brighton coach Hurzeler (Masashi Hara/Getty Images)How likely is the manager to survive the season?
Hurzeler’s job would only be in jeopardy after a year if Brighton get relegated. That is not impossible, but it’s extremely unlikely. And even in those hard-to-picture circumstances, their owner/chairman Tony Bloom would probably keep the faith.
What is their best XI as things stand?
Bart Verbruggen; Jack Hinshelwood, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Pervis Estupinan; Wieffer, Baleba; Minteh, Joao Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck.
A good season means…
Finishing in the top half of the table again, or close to it, with a decent run in at least one of the two domestic cups.
Predicted league finish
Tenth.
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Hurzeler shares much with De Zerbi but is keen to stamp own authority on Brighton
(Top photos: Getty Images)
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Publish date : 2024-08-14 17:20:00
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