Premier League 2026-27 preview No 5: Brighton

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 9th (NB: this is not necessarily John Brewin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 8th

Prospects

Last season’s final day in May featured Brighton fans and players united in celebrating qualification for the Europa Conference League despite losing 3-0 to Manchester United. Considering West Ham and Crystal Palace have won the competition since its inception, lifting that trophy becomes a target to aim for.

How realistic is that? Beyond the Thursday-Sunday schedule playing in the Conference League demands, it has been a summer of change within the ranks. James Milner did not celebrate as Europe was reached. By then he had decided he would retire. Danny Welbeck was last season’s outstanding forward for Brighton, one of the best in England, and has followed the now traditional trade route to Chelsea. Him turning 36 in November adds a note of curiosity to that transfer. Thus, the veteran class, each older than their head coach, Fabian Hürzeler, still just 33, is reduced to Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk and the reserve goalkeeper Jason Steele. Solly March not being offered a new contract was another break from the past, a surprise to a long-serving and popular player whose injury problems counted against him.

Jan Paul van Hecke, last season’s best defender, has been sold to Tottenham for £52m, with the teenager Luka Vuskovic coming in the opposite direction. If Brighton supporters are wondering about their club’s slew of new signings then their Premier League peers will be watching as closely, such is the industry’s respect for the club’s recruitment. The Jamestown Analytics company owned by Tony Bloom, Brighton’s financier, is a football Rosetta Stone, admired and coveted. It is not, though, completely infallible; there have been a number of busts.

Fans hugely enjoyed being in the Europa League three seasons ago, reaching the last 16, but it had a deleterious effect at home, stretching resources and relations with the then manager, Roberto De Zerbi. Brighton finished a disappointing 11th. Better is hoped for this time around.

Off-field picture

Safe standing is being expanded in the South Stand of the Amex, as part of a £40m modernisation project. The work will take place during September’s extended international break and is a drive towards enhancing the atmosphere. The ownership is among the most mindful of the matchday experience in English football. For Albion fans seeking a middle ground between the posh seats and pre-match drinks in the concourse, there’s the opening of the 1901 Pub, a “hybrid traditional pub and premium matchday lounge designed for a more relaxed fan experience”. With a capacity of 660, membership starts at £173 a month.

Owner-fan relationship

There can be no doubt that Brighton’s continued success relies on the patronage and funds of Bloom. The club’s supporters are more than aware of this. Last season, Bloom’s involvement with Hearts’ chase for the Scottish title demonstrated he has wider horizons, though his key priority will always be the hometown, boyhood club. In January, “the Lizard”, as he is known in the gambling circles he made his fortune, increased his Brighton investment with a £107m loan, making for an overall loan amount of £400m. Without Bloom’s financing and his continued enthusiasm, Brighton would not be the established, model Premier League force they remain.

The manager

Hürzeler has done much growing up in public. There have been points during his two seasons when doubts circled. In the boardroom, though, Bloom and his influential chief executive, Paul Barber, have kept faith in the still youthful Bavarian. As a new, three-year contract was announced in May, Bloom referred to a “clear playing identity”. Hürzeler can be fiery. His touchline behaviour does not always meet the approval of officials and opposing coaches but he enters the season as the fifth longest-serving manager in the Premier League and will be showing off a severe hair remodelling unveiled in pre-season. Success in European football can burnish a growing reputation.

Star signing

Will Tottenham rue never drawing on Vuskovic’s potential? Brighton hope so. He never played a match for Spurs but impressed on loan at Hamburg, where his reading of the game, positioning and maturity drew rave reviews. The signing of the experienced centre-back Pascal Struijk from Leeds means Vuskovic can be allowed time to develop but the Croatian’s playmaking abilities from the back may make him a long-term successor for the captain, Dunk. His fee, reported at £46m when Spurs paid £12m for him, suggests the demand for his talents. The hope and expectation is that the deal becomes regarded as a bargain.

Stat attack

The two Manchester clubs were the only sides who scored more Premier League goals than Brighton in regular play last season. The Seagulls dropped down the standings a little once counterattacks were included but they had an identical rate for open play expected goals per game as Arsenal in 2025-26. There should be no shortage of chances for whoever picks up the goalscoring baton after Danny Welbeck’s departure.

Set for a breakthrough

Patience with new arrivals is part of the Brighton doctrines, players are given latitude and opportunity to bed in. A season’s grace is often granted, and Charalampos Kostoulas showed a few flashes of his talent during the 2025-26 campaign. With Welbeck departed, there is a vacancy to lead the line. The Greece international scored a brilliant overhead kick against Bournemouth in January, and at 19, last summer’s signing from Olympiakos should receive more airtime than the two league starts he received last season. His Greek compatriot Stefanos Tzimas, back in training after an ACL rupture, can provide either competition or a partnership.

World Cup impact

When Jordan Henderson played master of ceremonies as England celebrated third place at the World Cup, he made sure Steele was given a medal for his acclaimed, appreciated work as training goalkeeper. It was an otherwise mixed summer for Albion players, with Maxim De Cuyper going furthest to the quarter-finals with Belgium. Diego Gómez was suspended for Paraguay’s historic defeat of Germany though featured in his country’s bruising exit at the hands of France. Yasin Ayari became the first Brighton player to score two World Cup goals in a game as Sweden beat Tunisia 5-1. Michael Svoboda, the summer defensive signing from Venezia, did not play a single minute for Austria.

Reporting from The Guardian contributed to this story.