Joel Veltman edges out Danny Welbeck as the player Brighton & Hove Albion have missed most when unavailable this season.
So it is just as well that the Dutch defender is keen to extend his stay with the club he has served with distinction since the summer of 2020.
Veltman spoke to The Athletic about how he sees his future after his comeback from a four-match absence with a calf injury in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at West Ham.
The former Ajax stalwart, theoretically out of contract in June, said: “I’m really happy. Brighton’s a nice place, my family are happy. The kids go to English school and that’s all really nice, but on the football side I’m happy. I’ve played most of the games with this coach (Fabian Hurzeler).
“We have a good group of players again. The club do that really well. When I left Amsterdam they said come back one day and obviously you keep your options open, but for now I am happy here. If I end my career here I’m happy, if I go back to Holland, that’s also an option, but I want to stay here.
“We have an option (in his current contract) for another year. That’s probably something in January, February, where you have a conversation with the club and see what it is.”
Veltman — as is also the case with 34-year-old striker Welbeck — is not the type of signing on which Brighton have predominantly forged their reputation in the transfer market. The main focus is on young players from across the world, rich in development and resale value potential.
Veltman will be 33 in January. When he eventually leaves the club it will be on a free transfer, but he has been a model of consistency at right-back so far for Hurzeler, just as he was for the German’s predecessors, Roberto De Zerbi and Graham Potter.
Paul Winstanley, now co-sporting director at Chelsea, was Brighton’s head of recruitment when they signed Veltman four years ago for only £900,000. They exploited a cut-price release clause in his contract with Ajax, which had been included as a reward for staying for another year when he knew the writing was on the wall.
Ajax were Veltman’s boyhood club. A fan, like his father, he joined them at the age of nine as a winger before his conversion into a central defender and right-back.
He made 246 appearances for one of European football’s former powerhouses, helping them to reach the Europa League final in 2017 (where they lost to Manchester United), the Champions League semi-finals in 2019 (where they went out to Tottenham) and three Eredivisie titles. But when he reached 28, Ajax were changing direction, signing younger players. He knew it was time to move on.
Ajax’s loss has been Brighton’s gain. Veltman has not made fewer than 27 Premier League appearances in any of his four completed seasons so far, and he never gets exposed by left-wingers with the capacity to cause damage.
Hurzeler, speaking at the end of November before Veltman was ruled out by a calf issue that a scan revealed was worse than initially suspected following Brighton’s 2-1 win at Bournemouth, said: “He’s one of the most underestimated players in the league. He knows what to do to win games.
“He knows how to be positioned to win personal duels. He knows how to give the team a clear structure, a good balance, and I think that’s crucial for a team like us. He brings us the right balance with his experience, with his age also, and that’s why he’s so important for us at the moment.”
Veltman has adapted his game to cope with subtle changes in style playing under Potter, De Zerbi and Hurzeler. “He (Hurzeler) is more similar to Graham,” Veltman said. “De Zerbi was more triangles in your own box. His idea was clear. With this coach you can also go back, just stay compact or attack the ball. The one big thing I would say is the intensity. If you lose the ball, jump in and recovery runs. It’s all about intensity.”
While Welbeck was ruled out for the third game in four by an ankle injury against West Ham, Veltman’s return restored much-needed solidity to a defence after nine goals were leaked in the four winless games without him.
Veltman dealt capably with Mohammed Kudus — a target for Brighton in the summer of 2023, when he chose West Ham instead. He was eventually replaced by Tariq Lamptey midway through the second half as part of a triple substitution.
Late in the first half, a well-timed tackle on Kudus at the expense of a corner was followed by a tap of hands with the creative Ghana international — a sign of mutual respect.
In and out of possession, Veltman is a smart cookie. Brighton supporters have become accustomed to seeing him earn free kicks under pressure from an opponent by shielding and then falling in the vicinity of the ball.
With the score 0-0 and half-time approaching at the London Stadium, there was a prime example of the type of game management nous Brighton have lacked in Veltman’s absence. He grabbed Kudus from behind to prevent his rival from running the ball away from his own penalty area to launch a counter-attack. The booking was worthwhile to remove any possibility of parity being eradicated.
Kudus had switched wings when he headed in West Ham’s equaliser on the rebound from Jarrod Bowen’s shot, which had been pushed away by Bart Verbruggen. That cancelled out Veltman’s midfield compatriot, Mats Wieffer, scoring his first goal since his summer move from Feyenoord.
Brighton have lost only once in the last 14 league games started by Veltman since the back end of last season — against leaders Liverpool at Anfield — another indication of how important he is to the team.
Veltman’s wife, Naomi, a vocal supporter and defender of her husband on social media, thinks he is important to Brighton as well. In April 2023 she posted on Instagram her displeasure at the club taking three days to acknowledge his 100th appearance (he has now reached 152 outings in all competitions).
Another contract agreement would be advisable to avoid incurring the wrath of Mrs Veltman.
(Top photo: Ben Whitley/Getty Images)
