Brighton & Hove Albion’s Premier League squad is set until the next transfer window opens in January.
They can make changes in the new year, pending ins and outs that will include the arrival of Paraguay midfielder Diego Gomez from Inter Miami. Until then, head coach Fabian Hurzeler will select from a squad excluding a raft of players sent out on loan during the summer window.
The depth chart below focuses on the players available to Hurzeler up to the halfway point of the campaign, including how long each has left on their contract. Players out on loan who are first-team squad contenders are mentioned in the overview for added context.
The versatility of several players within the group means positions are not fixed.
So, how strong do Brighton look after spending nearly £200million on nine new signings in the summer? And can they build on an unbeaten start across seven games in the Premier League and the Carabao Cup under Hurzeler? The Athletic analyses what the 31-year-old German has to work with…
Goalkeepers
GoalkeepersHurzeler has abandoned the rotation policy of former head coach Roberto De Zerbi last season by installing Netherlands international Bart Verbruggen as his No 1 over Jason Steele.
This strong combination has prompted an expansion of the policy of developing a batch of promising young goalkeepers by sending them out on loan.
Former England under-21 Carl Rushworth is in the Championship for the second season in succession, this time with Hull City. It is the fourth loan in as many years for him. The 23-year-old spent the 2021-22 campaign in League Two with Walsall, 2022-23 in League One (Lincoln) and 2023-24 in the Championship (Swansea).
Current England under-21 ‘keeper James Beadle is also in the Championship for the second season in a row. The 20-year-old is back at Sheffield Wednesday after joining them in January from a loan spell in the first half of the 2023-24 campaign in League One at Oxford United.
Canada international Tom McGill is on loan to MK Dons in League Two. The 24-year-old was third choice behind Verbruggen and Steele last season. That is now the role of 20-year-old Irish prospect Killian Cahill, with Dutchman Kjell Scherpen on loan for a second successive season at Sturm Graz in the Austrian top flight.
The overall picture is of a talented pool of goalkeepers who will either be competing for a place in the first-team squad or sold for a profit.
Full-backs
Ghana international right-back Tariq Lamptey has not been in the squad for the past two league games — a 0-0 draw at home to Ipswich and Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Nottingham Forest. That is an indication of the options Hurzeler has here.
Joel Veltman has been in charge at right-back in the first five Premier League matches. Jack Hinshelwood started at left-back in the first four of those games after breaking into the team at right-back under De Zerbi. Summer signing Ferdi Kadioglu can play on either side of the defence as well, although the Turkey international is primarily a left-back.
Ecuador international left-back Pervis Estupinan missed only three of 38 league games in the 2022-23 campaign, but injuries restricted him to 19 appearances last season. He made his first league start of the campaign against Forest, but the 26-year-old has a fight on his hands to re-establish supremacy at the expense of Kadioglu.
The signing of Kadioglu for £25million from Fenerbahce means that 20-year-old Argentina prospect Valentin Barco can further his development on loan to Sevilla in La Liga for the season.
Central defenders
Hurzeler played with three centre-backs at former club St Pauli last season as they lifted the Bundesliga 2 title. He has switched to a flat back four so far at Brighton, with long-serving skipper Lewis Dunk and Netherlands international Jan Paul van Hecke the dominant pairing.
They are not slow, but they are not blisteringly quick either — that also applies to the supporting partnership of powerful Brazilian Igor Julio and Adam Webster.
Hurzeler defends with a high line. Although this contributed to goals conceded against Manchester United, Arsenal and Forest, only Liverpool (1) and Arsenal (3) have let in fewer goals across the opening five league games than Hurzeler’s team (4).
Brighton were interested in signing Mats Hummels in the summer window before the 35-year-old German joined Roma as a free agent. That would have been more about adding to the core group of high-pedigree and experienced players in the squad, led by James Milner and Danny Welbeck.
There is enough depth at the heart of the defence, although Igor was linked with other clubs in the summer. If the 26-year-old runs out of patience at a lack of game time, a vacancy could emerge.
Midfielders
Hurzeler sees summer signing Mats Wieffer and Cameroonian prospect Carlos Baleba as an option to play together rather than both of them fighting for the No 6 spot.
That would be another of the multiple choices available to Hurzeler, despite the summer departures of Pascal Gross to Borussia Dortmund and Billy Gilmour to Napoli.
Five different midfield partnerships have been used in the first five league fixtures because of injuries to Wieffer (thigh), fellow newcomer Matt O’Riley (ankle ligaments) and James Milner (hamstring).
Illness ruled out Yasin Ayari against Forest. Hinshelwood, who moved into midfield as a result of the 20-year-old Sweden international’s absence, scored and starred in that 2-2 draw.
Hinshelwood is listed in the graphic at right-back as that has been his position for most of his 24 first team appearances, but he progressed through the academy as a midfielder.
The wide range of selection posers for Hurzeler allowed two young talents to be loaned out. Malick Yalcouye, 18, is with Champions League participants Sturm Graz after joining from Swedish club IFK Gothenburg in July.
Republic of Ireland international Andy Moran, 20, is at Championship side Stoke, having also spent last season out on loan in the English second tier with Blackburn Rovers.
Wingers
Hurzeler had Kaoru Mitoma on the left flank and summer signing Yankuba Minteh on the right for the first four league matches. That changed against Forest, with Simon Adingra — who can play on either side — replacing Minteh on the right.
Adingra was unable to seize his opportunity, but Mitoma was back to peak condition and menace after a hangover against Ipswich from a busy international break with Japan.
Newcomer Brajan Gruda and the long-serving Solly March will provider further competition on the right once they recover from injuries. Gruda, 20, has yet to feature since his August move from Mainz because of a calf issue.
It remains to be seen whether March can recapture the form he found under De Zerbi — the best of his career — before the 30-year-old suffered a serious knee injury at Manchester City last October.
Hurzeler also sees £40million record signing Georginio Rutter as a wide-right option. With so much competition on the wings, new signings Ibrahim Osman and Amario Cozier-Duberry have been loaned out to Feyenoord in the Dutch Eredivisie and Blackburn Rovers in the Championship respectively.
Ecuador international Jeremy Sarmiento is out on loan as well at Burnley in the English second tier again, after spending last season with West Brom and Ipswich.
Strikers
Danny Welbeck is still finding new ways to impact games at the age of 33. The 70th Premier League goal of his career, against Forest, was the first he has scored direct from a free kick.
Three goals plus an assist in the opening five league games cements Welbeck’s standing as Hurzeler’s first choice for the No 9 role, with Evan Ferguson goalless since November and the 19-year-old Republic of Ireland talent only just back from ankle surgery.
Joao Pedro can operate as the No 9 or No 10. It is hard to leave the Brazilian out when he is fully fit — he has scored 22 goals in 44 appearances and gives the attack an extra dimension with his ability to go past defenders.
Rutter, more of an assister than a goalscorer, is not an automatic choice after his big-money move from Leeds, which is an indication of the attacking quality at Hurzeler’s disposal. Not forgetting Julio Enciso, who is still only 20 years old. The Paraguay international can be devastating on his day.
The strength in depth at the top end of the pitch has enabled versatile Argentinian Facundo Buonanotte to be loaned out to Premier League rivals Leicester City and Senegal striker Abdallah Sima to Brest. Sima scored for the French Ligue 1 club in their 2-1 win over Sturm Graz in the opening round of group games in the new-look Champions League.
Ferguson’s compatriot Mark O’Mahony, also 19 years old and a fellow No 9, has also been sent out for an educational loan — the first of his career — at Portsmouth in the Championship.
The summer splurge has produced a squad with unprecedented depth of quality and flexibility for the club across all areas of the pitch.
Additional reporting: Thom Harris
(Top photo: MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
