Midfield conundrum and spoilt for choice in attack - what is Brighton's best starting XI? (2024)

Carl Rushworth will provide backup for Steele initially, pending an intended loan to a Championship club for a second successive season after impressing at Swansea City.

Selection: Bart Verbruggen

Full-backs

On the right, Jack Hinshelwood has an opportunity to continue where he left off before his breakthrough last season was cut short by a stress fracture of the foot, which ruled him out from February until the end of the season.

The 19-year-old came through the academy as a central midfielder and that is where his long-term future lies, but De Zerbi made effective use of his energy, adventurous instincts and eye for a goal (he scored three times in 12 league appearances in 2023-24) on the right side of the defence in a back three and a back four.

There are viable alternatives, however. Joel Veltman does not possess as much pace and mobility to get up and down the pitch, but the 32-year-old is a model of consistency and dependability.

Tariq Lamptey, on the other hand, has the speed but not the same level of reliability. He has suffered persistent injury problems and his size makes him weak in physical confrontations.

On the left, Pervis Estupinan will miss the start of the season due to an ankle injury suffered in April which required surgery. If the Ecuador international returns to the injury-free influence he demonstrated in 2022-23 in tandem with Kaoru Mitoma, he will be hard to shift.

As with the goalkeeping situation, however, the injury allows 20-year-old Valentin Barco to press his claims. The talented Argentinian will push Estupinan hard in his first full season at the club.

Hurzeler regards Carlos Baleba as an option at left-back as well.

Selections: Jack Hinshelwood and Pervis Estupinan

Hurzeler veered between a back three and a back four during pre-season. Irrespective of the system, two places at the heart of the defence are more or less nailed down.

It is hard to know if Lewis Dunk’s England career is over after being in the squad but not playing a single minute at Euro 2024, but if there are doubts about what lies ahead for Dunk at an international level, the 32-year-old captain’s enduring importance to Brighton is undiminished.

Jan Paul van Hecke is the most improved player in the squad, pipped for the player of the season prize in 2023-24 only by the long-lasting excellence of the now-departed Pascal Gross.

Left-sided Igor Julio had a decent first campaign at the club when called upon, but his injury absence throughout the pre-season programme harms the Brazilian’s chances of a run of games as the campaign begins.

It was not so long ago that Adam Webster, who can play on the left or right, was close to an England call-up before injuries interrupted his momentum. Hurzeler’s appointment offers a fresh incentive.

Internally, there is not much optimism that interest in 35-year-old free agent Mats Hummels will end up in a deal, considering the number of clubs with bigger wage bills that are also attracted by the idea of signing the German World Cup winner.

Adding another high-pedigree, experienced player to the squad was the plan before Adam Lallana rejoined Southampton. Now Gross has also been lost from the core group of wise heads following his move to Borussia Dortmund, it is even more important Brighton find suitable cover.

Selections: Lewis Dunk and Jan Paul van Hecke

Central midfielders

Mats Wieffer is the most significant addition of the transfer window to date in the area of the squad that gives the most cause for concern, having lost Gross on top of the departures of Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister in the summer of 2023.

The signing from Feyenoord will be instrumental for Hurzeler in and out of possession, especially when the high press is broken.

His long-legged gait gives him the capacity to win the ball back and he will be the tempo-setter with the simplistic poise of his passing — a Dutch version of Declan Rice.

The big question is who partners Wieffer given Napoli’s pursuit of Billy Gilmour. A case can be made for the versatile nous of 38-year-old James Milner, used mostly last season as a full-back until he suffered a hamstring injury in January.

The best is yet to come from Baleba. There were inconsistent flashes last season of the Cameroon rookie’s rich promise. His defensive awareness and positioning need improvement, but he has the potential to develop into a high-grade box-to-box midfielder with his powerful athleticism and combative instincts.

Selections: Mats Wieffer and Carlos Baleba

Attackers

Who to pick from an array of talent? While the centre of midfield looks weaker than two seasons ago, when Brighton finished sixth under De Zerbi, the depth of quality in attack is stronger.

Glenn Murray’s relegation-saving 13 goals in 2018-19 remains the highest number of league goals scored by a Brighton player in the Premier League.

That will be under threat this season more than ever before considering this rich list of wingers and central forwards: Yankuba Minteh, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Simon Adingra, Solly March, Mitoma, Julio Enciso, Jeremy Sarmiento, Ibrahim Osman, Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck and Evan Ferguson.

The £30million ($38.3m) investment in Minteh (right in top image) could end up looking like a giveaway by Newcastle. Peak Mitoma is a must on the left if he overcomes last season’s injury troubles.

Joao Pedro can build on an exceptional debut campaign and the enduring class of Danny Welbeck cannot be ignored. The team total of 72 goals in 2022-23 is an outlier, but their best tally apart from that across seven Premier League seasons of 55 (2023-24) should be surpassed.

Selections: Yankuba Minteh, Kaoru Mitoma, Joao Pedro and Danny Welbeck

(Top photos: Getty Images)