PL preview: Brighton set for another great season

I think it’s fair to say that Brighton are no longer the plucky underdogs of yesteryear. They’re a serious team with ambition that can be reflected by the amount of money they’ve spent in the last few windows. Only Man City, Chelsea, Man United, Arsenal and Liverpool have spent more than the roughly €460 million that the Seagulls have flushed out in the last 3 seasons. That means for Fabian Hurzeler and his men, no European football is no longer an option - last season was a blip that can’t afford to be replicated.

That being said, the German coach has convinced most fans that he is indeed a very capable manager that was worth the risk that Brighton took on him. Okay, they might not have achieved European football but they weren’t far off at all - and the signs of a really promising team are most definitely there. Hurzeler has already turned Brighton into one of the most exciting attacking outfits in the league. They placed 5th for goals per game whilst also placing 5th for shots on target and 6th for big chances created. If anything, it was defensive frailties that stopped the Seagulls from mounting a serious European charge as they ranked 8th in the league for highest xG conceded per game and also gave away the most penalties in the division.

This clear weakness at the back has seemingly already been rectified with the additions of Italian centre-half Diego Coppola and Frenchman Olivier Boscagli, who was widely regarded as one of the best, if not the best centre-back in the Eredivisie. Highly touted full-back Maxim De Cuyper has also been added to the backline, though I doubt it’s not got much to do with his defensive contributions. 

Diego Coppola in action for Italy - Image via @fc_mossman on X

Another huge positive for Brighton is that with the exception of Joao Pedro, all star players look like they’ll be staying at the American Express Stadium for the 25/26 season. Van Hecke, Baleba, Rutter, Mitoma and others won’t be heading anywhere unless something shocking develops in the latter stages of the window and that’s a huge bonus for the Seagulls who have constantly been raided of their best players for the last few years. Not to mention that there’s also been little upheaval to their coaching staff which must be a breath of fresh air.

In addition, signings from the previous summer that may not have set the world alight in the first season will be coming back with a vengeance. Brajan Gruda, Mats Wieffer, Ferdi Kadioglu and Matt O’Riley will all have hoped for a better debut campaign but now they’ll be fully acclimatised to English football. All have the ability to make a real name for themselves in the league and so this season may see them take the step into the limelight that many expected, raising the level of the Brighton squad in the process.

All these signs make me believe that it’s going to be a strong season for the Seagulls. Outside the big 6, I don’t think it’s an outrageous claim that Bighton have the strongest squad in the league, and in fact, I don’t think it’s outrageous to say their squad might be more talented than both Man United’s and Spurs’. Along with the extremely high ceiling that most Brighton players seem to come with, they’re also extremely tactically versatile and can play a whole host of positions - making Brighton more fluid and difficult to prepare for.

Last season, Brighton often lined up in a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-2-3-1, but it had so many variations in-game it’s hard to say that Brighton even played with a set formation. To go with this tactical flexibility, there was also relentless chopping and changing from Hurzeler who never looked like he knew what his strongest eleven was. This is something that is going to have to change this season as making 3-4 changes to your starting eleven every game means your best players will never fully get used to playing with each other. 

Although he’s now in his second season at Brighton - Hurzeler is still extremely inexperienced all things considered. The 32 year old’s naivety was on show a few times last year, most notably when he started a midfield of Joao Pedro, Rutter and Hinshelwood against one of the most physical teams in the league last season in Nottingham Forest - and proceeded to get slapped 7-0. These mistakes aren’t something that will vanish overnight, the odd Brighton humbling is still to be expected as the German coach continues to work through his ideas and approach to the game - but there’s no better club than Brighton to allow you to make those mistakes.

I can only see the Seagulls improving from last season. The only problem I’ve got is I think they’re squad is still too big, especially in attacking areas - a few players are going to have to be sold or loaned out in order to streamline the first-team, because right now there’s just too many players and will be intriguing to see how the two Greek sensations, Tzimas and Kostoulas, slot into the Brighton eleven because they might be too good to not play.

Once again, Brighton are one of the most exciting teams to watch out for in the upcoming season. Their biggest problem from the previous campaign was their defence and it seems to have been rectified. The squad is now a year older with a manager who’s a year more experienced and the prospect of them clicking together is frightening.

If there’s any team I suggest you try and watch this season, it might just be the Seagulls because it looks to me like they might just be on the up - again.