Football Season Guide

Brighton and Hove Albion

In


Adam Lallana (mid) Liverpool; Joel Veltman (def) Ajax; Jensen Weir (mid) Wigan; Ben White (def) Leeds – end of loan; Tudor Baluta (mid) ADO Den Haag – end of loan; Florin Andone (att) Galatasaray – end of loan; Viktor Gyokeres (att) St. Pauli – end of loan;

Out


Martin Montoya (r) (def) Real Betis; Aaron Mooy (r) (mid) Shanghai SIPG; David Button (sp) (gk) WBA; Shane Duffy (sp) (def) Celtic – on loan; Glenn Murray (sp) (att) Watford – on loan; Leon Balogun (sp) (def) Wigan – loan made permanent; Anthony Knockaert (sp) (mid) Fulham – loan made permanent; Ezequiel Schelotto (def) released; Beram Kayal (mid) released; Percy Tau (att) Anderledcht – on loan; Jan Mlakar (att) Maribor – on loan;

In the first season under Graham Potter Brighton showed slight improvement compared to the previous campaign, with this more than enough to see the Seagulls securing safety with 4 games to spare. Brighton played some modern fast-pace football under Potter and they certainly had some famous results on the way. Right-back Montoya and playmaker Mooy only notable departures so far, but after joining last January Tariq Lamptey was preparing for regular role at right-back anyway so this was pre-planned move. If anything Brighton look stronger after signing centre-back Veltman from Dutch giants Ajax and also experienced Lallana arrived fresh of lifting the Premier League trophy with Liverpool. He is expected to step in and fill the creative void left by Mooy. The outlook for the season ahead is good with Brighton likely to continue changing their formation and personnel regularly. Potter is firm believer in regular rotation and also in adjusting his tactics based on the team facing them. In terms of scoring the stats should improve as Maupay and Trossard will be much more confident in their second top-flight campaigns + now they have Lallana helping them. The fast pace Brighton use when in possession is amongst the main strengths as the fast forwards can really hurt defences when they are not properly set. The other strength is the very good organisation during set pieces, both when defending such and when trying to score themselves. At time looked flat in midfield last season, not enough players capable to keep possession under pressure, with this seen as main weakness again. Also both natural right-backs in the squad are just 20-years-old and without much experience so in the long-term this might be an area of bother.

Target


Staying out of trouble is the main task, with team not likely to be able to challenge for top 10 finish. Still avoiding relegation should be possible.