Igor Julio has given head coach Fabian Hurzeler a nice problem at the heart of the Brighton & Hove Albion defence.
Lewis Dunk, the captain, and Netherlands international Jan Paul van Hecke are not the automatic first-choice pairing they appeared to be at the start of the season.
Igor is a strong contender to show Wolverhampton Wanderers why they were interested in signing the Brazilian during the summer transfer window when they visit the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
The 26-year-old was among the targets identified after the sale by Wolves of former captain Maximilian Kilman to West Ham, but Igor wanted to stay to fight for a place under Hurzeler. Brighton were reluctant to lose him without landing German veteran Mats Hummels, 35, who ended up joining Roma as a free agent after the window closed.
Hurzeler sprang a surprise at Newcastle last Saturday by keeping faith with Igor, despite Van Hecke’s return to fitness after missing two matches with a groin injury. Hurzeler, speaking before the match, said: “When some players get injured, you really notice how bad you miss them. That was the case with Jan Paul van Hecke.
“He is a personality and a communicator. He always wants to win every game and training session. We missed that. On top of that, he has individual quality that makes him a Dutch national player and that is a quality we need in our squad.”
The part played by Igor in the 1-0 win at Newcastle — on his 18th Premier League start since a £17million move from Fiorentina last summer under former head coach Roberto De Zerbi — strengthened his case to be retained in the starting line-up.
Although Hurzeler’s side rode their luck in the first half at St James’ Park, Igor contributed heavily to the clean sheet, as is shown below. He also made seven clearances, the joint most of any player in the match with team-mate Ferdi Kadioglu.
No further goals were leaked when Igor was given game time by Hurzeler in the Premier League for the first time as a 57th-minute replacement for Adam Webster in the 4-2 defeat at Chelsea at the end of September. That was followed by a shut-out in the second half of the 3-2 comeback win at home to Tottenham Hotspur before the October international break. Igor replaced the injured Webster after nine minutes of that match.
Hurzeler said at his press conference on Thursday: “It was a very difficult situation for Igor coming into a game against Tottenham where the team suffered from the first minute and then we conceded two goals. But then to show personality, not hiding, that’s something special.
“He was not hiding to get the ball. He was not hiding to go in duels. And then he played a great second half against Tottenham. He has played now a good game against Newcastle and I wasn’t surprised by this because I see him every training session and he is an amazing professional.
“He always wants to give the best. He always wants to be the best version of himself. He gets what he deserved in these two games and now it’s a decision we have to make. We also have to see that we have three games in a short period of time (after Wolves, Liverpool at home in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and away to Liverpool in the Premier League three days later).”
The encouraging start under Hurzeler — a fourth win in eight matches at Newcastle lifted Brighton to fifth position in the table — has not been accompanied by the defensive solidity the German seeks. His St Pauli side won the Bundesliga 2 title last season with the best defensive record in the division.
Only Fulham among the teams in the top half of the Premier League table have conceded more goals (11), while two have been shipped in each of the last three games at the Amex across all competitions, including a 3-2 win against Wolves in the Carabao Cup.
Hurzeler, speaking the day after the win against Tottenham, said: “St Pauli won the championship because of our defence. And, on average, when you look at the Premier League winners, I think in the last seven or eight years, they didn’t concede more than 31 goals.
“So, defence wins championships. It’s an old sentence, but in the end, it’s the truth. And to keep the balance, it’s not always about ball possession. It’s finding the balance between controlling the game and defending well. ”
Hurzeler has not been helped by injury and illness issues, which have undermined selection consistency in the defence. He fielded the same back four in the opening four league games: Joel Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk and Jack Hinshelwood deputising at left-back with Pervis Estupinan still recovering from ankle surgery at that stage, while Kadioglu’s debut had been delayed by a minor thigh knock after signing from Fenerbahce at the end of August.
Only two goals were conceded over that period in wins against Manchester United and Everton and draws with Arsenal and Ipswich. Hurzeler has fielded a different back four in each of the last four league matches, as the number of goals conceded quadrupled to eight.
He has made a tactical change since taking charge of Brighton, abandoning the system of three central defenders he used in most matches in St Pauli’s title triumph. This is partly designed to get as many attacking players on the pitch as possible.
Of the nine new signings made in the summer at a cost of almost £200million, five were wingers or forwards. Hurzeler told The Athletic of his strategy: “At my former club, there were flexible formations. Most of the time we played with three at the back, but we also played with a four. It’s very fluid.
“We have a lot of great offensive players in the squad. You also need to find the best formation for the squad, not for myself. We still have the flexibility with the players that we can easily change to five at the back. It’s a very fluent formation, a fluent game. There are moments where you might see us adapt and play five at the back.”
It is hard to see Hurzeler changing the system for the foreseeable future given there are only four natural central defenders and Webster is expected to be out for another two to three weeks with a hamstring injury. Veltman played in the centre of defence as well as at right-back at former club Ajax, but the vast majority of the 32-year-old’s 127 league appearances in five seasons at Brighton have been in the latter of those roles.
Signing another central defender could be back on the agenda in January. The injuries to Van Hecke and Webster have highlighted the only area of the squad that looks vulnerable, but Igor’s form has increased the competition for places.
(Top photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP via Getty Images)
