Brighton have placed faith in youth on and off the pitch with Fabian Hurzeler becoming the youngest-ever permanent manager in the Premier League this summer. How will the 31-year-old German fare in season one?
Brighton – Premier League Season Preview 2024/25
Last season: 11th
Title odds: 150/1
TFF prediction: 11th
Transfers
In: Ibrahim Osman, Yankuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Malick Junior Yalcouyé.
Out: Kacper Kozłowski, Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross, Adam Lallana, Steven Alzate, Marc Leonard, Kjell Scherpen (loan), Facundo Buonanotte (loan).
Brighton have been bold in their new era after making Fabian Hurzeler the youngest permanent manager in Premier League history. Roberto De Zerbi’s decision to leave the Seagulls was a blow despite Brighton’s poor run-in, where the south coast side won just two of their final 13 league games to drop out of contention for European qualification.
Hurzeler appears an ideal fit for the philosophy of placing faith in youth and led German side St Pauli to promotion to the Bundesliga last season. The 31-year-old faces a restructure in following the departure of long-serving fan favourite Pascal Gross to Borussia Dortmund and replacing the midfielder’s influence will not be an easy task.
As ever, there’s an exciting collection of young arrivals at Brighton this summer. Ibrahim Osman and Yankuba Minteh offer real potential in attacking areas, with Brighton having capitalised on Newcastle’s PSR concerns to sign the latter in a club-record-equalling £35m deal. Minteh scored 10 goals and provided five assists in 17 league starts on loan at Feyenoord last season and the 20-year-old has caught the eye in pre-season.
“I really like the DNA and philosophy of the club, we will try to continue this” 🔵
31-year-old Fabian Hurzeler discusses why he chose to join Brighton as head coach. pic.twitter.com/VgGAiV0vxw
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) July 2, 2024
Brighton will also expect Karou Mitoma and Evan Ferguson to be back better in 2024-25. The former missed the final months of the season through injury, while Ferguson struggled to build on an exciting emergence before his campaign was also curtailed. Their decline in fortunes last term has perhaps dissuaded interest from wealthier clubs in their services this summer in a big boost to Brighton.
Having juggled Europa League commitments with the Premier League schedule for the first time last season, Brighton will have full focus on domestic football in 2024-25. The reduced work-load could lead to another challenge for continental football, if Hurzeler can hit the ground running in English football.
Key Player: Mats Wieffer
Mats Wieffer has arrived from Feyenoord in a £25m deal and was courted by top clubs, including AC Milan, before a transfer to the Amex Stadium.
How the Dutch international settles with the Seagulls could be crucial to their hopes this season, particularly given the exit of Pascal Gross and strong interest from Napoli in Billy Gilmour.
One to watch: Yankuba Minteh
An excitement machine, there are some sections of Newcastle fans already grumbling at the PSR-led decision to cash in on the 20-year-old winger this summer. Minteh might never have kicked a ball for the Magpies, but an impressive campaign on loan at Feyenoord and some eye-catching pre-season performances have underlined his potential.
In Minteh and Mitoma, Brighton have a wing pairing that could give full-backs nightmares this season.
Yankuba’s first goal in blue and white! 🇬🇲 pic.twitter.com/gqpLq4G7OD
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 24, 2024
