Brighton 2026-27 season preview: Back in Europe but injuries mount and a striker is needed
Will a European campaign get in the way again of Brighton & Hove Albion’s progress as an established Premier League club, capable of competing for trophies?
They dropped from sixth to 11th in the table after reaching the last 16 of the Europa League under former head coach Roberto De Zerbi in 2023-24.
Fabian Hurzeler faces a similar balancing act following a second successive eighth-placed finish last season, which secured a spot in the Conference League this season.
What are the expectations inside the club?
Quietly optimistic. They are acutely aware, even approaching a 10th season in succession in the Premier League, that the margins between top-10 challengers for Europe and dropping below 11th for the first time since 2020-21 are wafer thin.
Major silverware for the first time is a goal. They have three cracks at that: Conference League, FA Cup (they have been semi-finalists twice in the past eight seasons) and the Carabao Cup, with the bonus of not entering the latter competition until the third round due to reaching Europe.
Who have they signed?
Six players so far, with a chance of more before the window shuts on September 1.
The centre-back options have been rebuilt, with Jan Paul van Hecke moving to Tottenham for £52million and Diego Coppola to Paris FC permanently (after a loan last season) for around £15m.
Croatian teenager Luka Vuskovic cost a club record £46m from Tottenham. Dutchman Pascal Struijk has arrived from Leeds for approximately £18m and Austrian international Michael Svoboda from Venezia for £7m.
Luka Vuskovic joined from Tottenham for a club record fee of £46m (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Portuguese defender Costinha (£8m from Greek side Olympiacos) adds depth at right-back, competing for the position with converted midfielder Mats Wieffer.
Two young wingers have been added to the squad: Zadok Yohanna from AIK in Sweden for £21.8m and Rodrigo Rego from Benfica for an undisclosed fee. Rego has been loaned to Castellon in La Liga 2 in Spain for the season.
What is their transfer priority before the window closes?
Carlos Espi was a target, but they (not surprisingly) could not compete with the lure of Real Madrid for the Levante striker. Madrid signed the 21-year-old at the end of July after activating his €25million release clause (£21.4m).
The No 9 options are limited following Danny Welbeck’s move to Chelsea. Georginio Rutter’s form dipped last season and he has performed more effectively as the No 10. That leaves a trio of youngsters, two of whom are still recovering from long-term injuries.
Stefanos Tzimas suffered an anterior cruciate ligament rupture (ACL) on his full league debut against Aston Villa in December, while ankle surgery cut short Evan Ferguson’s loan to Roma last season.
Charalampos Kostoulas, Greek compatriot of Tzimas, could kick on after limited opportunities in his debut campaign. Welbeck led the way last season with 13 league goals, eight more than any other player in the squad. He turns 36 in November and would probably have struggled to replicate that career-best impact.
Charalampos Kostoulas could be given a run in the No 9 role (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
His departure leaves a big gap to fill, but it opens the door for one or more of the youngsters to seize the chance to shine.
What else is new?
The 1901 Pub — named after the year of the club’s formation — opens behind the north stand at the Amex for the start of the season.
The pub-style hospitality area at the home end, with an upper tier of seating, increases the capacity of the stadium to around 32,200.
What’s the biggest lesson they learnt last season?
Making it count in periods of matches when they are on top and managing games better. A run of one win in 13 league games from December dropped them to 14th in the table by mid-February. That sequence started with a 4-3 home defeat by Aston Villa when they were 2-0 up inside half an hour.
Although victories dried up, six draws in that downturn included conceding an equaliser deep into stoppage time at home to Everton (1-1). And only one of the six defeats was by more than one goal. Small details matter. They can make a big difference to the finishing position.
Who’s been the best player in pre-season?
Left-sided Olivier Boscagli has pressed his claims to get more minutes in the centre of defence than last season. The 28-year-old Frenchman, an experienced campaigner, was used sparingly after joining from PSV last summer.
What are they worried about?
Their cruel luck with injuries, a persistent theme in recent seasons. The most recent, a right leg injury which has ruled Yankuba Minteh out for up to three months, is a good example. It was unavoidable, competing for the ball during a 3-0 friendly win at home to Roma earlier this month.
That has compounded the continuing absence for an unspecified period of Kaoru Mitoma after hamstring surgery ruled the Japan international out of this summer’s World Cup.
Hurzeler still has wide options to fill the gaps, headed by Diego Gomez and Maxim De Cuyper. They represented Paraguay and Belgium respectively at this summer’s World Cup.
Both players are versatile, without possessing the penetration of natural wingers. Gomez, fresh from agreeing a new five-year deal, was on the right for Minteh and De Cuyper took Mitoma’s regular position on the left in Saturday’s 1-0 home win against Bologna in the final warm-up fixture.
How’s the manager feeling?
Hurzeler’s glass is always half-full. His positive outlook means he will regard potential problems — such as the extra strain of competing in the Europa Conference League, the injuries, plus losing last season’s top goalscorer Welbeck — as challenges that can be overcome.
What’s the percentage chance of Hurzeler seeing out the season?
As close as you can get to 100 per cent in such an insecure industry. The hierarchy ignores external noise and sticks to their guns. Hurzeler’s job was never under threat when some fans called for his head after a 1-0 home defeat by rivals Crystal Palace in February continued a winter slump in form.
The storm clouds evaporated, and Hurzeler signed a new three-year contract in May, delivering an eighth-placed finish for the second season in succession and a return to Europe qualification for the second time in club history.
Fabian Hurzeler appears very secure in his job (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Only a catastrophic decline towards a real danger of relegation deep into the season would potentially put him at risk.
Even in those circumstances, he would probably be safe.
I wouldn’t be surprised if…
Struijk proves to be the shrewdest buy of the summer as the right-sided central defender after Van Hecke’s move to Tottenham. Struijk missed the Bologna game with a minor pre-season injury, but he is back in training.
Struijk’s arrival has been overshadowed by the club-record capture of Vuskovic, but he looks a snip, with four years of solid Premier League experience at Leeds. At 27-years-old, he is at peak age to show his qualities in and out of possession and the calm leadership traits that made him a popular figure inside the dressing room at Elland Road.
What is their strongest XI?
The line-up (below) is when everybody is fit and new signings have bedded into Hurzeler’s way of playing — it won’t look that way at the start of the season with Mitoma, Minteh and Baleba injured.
Verbruggen; Wieffer, Struijk, Vuskovic, Kadioglu; Baleba, Gross; Minteh, Hinshelwood, Mitoma; Rutter.
Crédito: Link de origem