Fabian Hurzeler has only been in the Brighton job for a couple of months and already he is faced with quite the challenge – how do you replace Pascal Gross?
Since the start of the 2020-21 campaign, Der Kaiser averaged 9.25 assists and five goals per season. His output was not only ahead of any other Albion player, but amongst the best in the Premier League.
One of the most impressive stats flaunted in the wake of Gross moving to Dortmund was that only Kevin De Bruyne had created more chances in the Premier League than Gross over the past seven campaigns.
A new midfielder who is instantly going to offer 14 goal involvements per season would cost many, many millions. So many as to be way out of Brighton’s reach. It is why hardly anybody is talking about the Albion making a signing to replace Pascal Gross.
The likelihood is that Hurzeler will instead need to find solutions from within his current squad. With four Premier League goals and 13 assists in 2023-24, Gross was involved in just under 25 percent of the Albion’s total.
Replacing a quarter of the Seagulls’ goals is the significant task facing the new head coach. Welcome to England, Herr Hurzeler.
Look to the wings for more goals and assists
The way Brighton have played in pre-season and the Albion’s summer transfer work so far offers some indication of how Hurzeler might look to replace the goals missing with Gross now a Dortmund player.
Brighton have been stockpiling wingers. Yankubu Minteh arrived from Newcastle United for a club-record fee of £33 million. The transfer of Ibrahim Osman was agreed in January and Amario Cozier-Duberry was brought in from Arsenal.
Against Kashima Antlers, four of the five goals the Albion scored came from wide players. Cozier-Dubbery bagged a brace, Minteh one and Jeremy Sarmiento one.
Minteh and Sarmiento were then both on target in the 4-2 win over Tokyo Verdy, along with another winger in Simon Adingra.
Brighton were much more laboured against QPR in their third friendly, scoring the only goal of the game via a Danny Welbeck penalty. Minteh was the man who won it.
Ask Rachel Riley to add it all together and what have you got? 10 goals in three pre-season games, eight of which have been scored or assisted by wingers. The only exceptions being Yasin Ayari’s screamer past the Antlers and Jan Paul van Hecke against Verdy.
Hurzeler played 3-4-3 at St Pauli with two wing backs and two wide forwards either side of a central target man. Whether he sticks with that formation and tactics or not, wingers are a crucial part of his philosophy.
The task of replacing the goals and assists of Gross might fall on those in wide areas.
Replace Pascal Gross with his ‘son’
“I said Jack is Pascal Gross’ son because he is very young but he plays like an older player. He has personality, he is very smart on the pitch, he can play full-back, midfielder in every position.”
The words of Roberto De Zerbi back in December after Brighton beat Brentford 2-1 at the Amex. Jack Hinshelwood had just scored his first senior goal with Gross also on the scoresheet against the Bees.
Before Hinshelwood suffered a stress fracture of the foot in February, De Zerbi mainly used the teenager as a full back. The fiery Italian is on the record, however, as saying he believed Hinshelwood’s best position – and where he would end up spending most of his career – was midfield.
Hinshelwood netted three times in 13 Premier League games last season. An impressive record for an 18-year-old in their first ever top flight campaign.
Even more so when you consider he was at right back for those goals against Brentford and Spurs. His strike in the 4-1 demolition of Crystal Palace came from midfield.
Hinshelwood clearly has an eye for goal. And although he is yet to be credited with a Premier League assist, he can create too. Hence why De Zerbi was so impressed by his footballing intelligence.
Of all the players in the current Brighton squad, Hinshelwood is the closest to Gross. Having displayed scoring prowess and an eye for a pass from full back, could he deliver even more if pushed into midfield?
It would be a big ask to give an 18-year-old with only 27 professional appearances to his name the task of trying to replace Pascal Gross at Brighton.
But if anyone looks capable of such a job, it is Hinshelwood. Whose (real) dad Adam once scored an own goal from 30 yards when Brighton lost 2-0 to Colchester United on Boxing Day 2008.
Gamble on Diego Gomez from Inter Miami
As already noted, buying a new player who can instantly contribute to 14 Premier League goals in 2024-25 is beyond the Albion’s financial capabilities.
But could smart recruitment and thinking outside the box lead them to find a Gross replacement for a relatively cheap outlay like the £3 million paid to Ingolstadt for Der Kaiser in 2017?
Such a task is much harder now than it was seven years ago. Lightning rarely strikes twice. Even the optimistic member of the Albion’s recruitment team could not have predicted the legacy Gross would leave Brighton.
The football world is now far more aware of how Brighton sign players and who they target. The chances of snaring Gross II unnoticed are slim; especially with Chelsea having a transfer policy which reads ‘Copy everything Brighton do’.
Enter the conversation, Diego Gomez. The Inter Miami midfielder has been heavily linked with a move to the Amex this season.
Gomez himself has publicly stated he wants to join Brighton. He said in a post-match press conference after scoring and assisting in a 3-1 win over Toronto: “My agent is speaking to Inter Miami and Brighton & Hove Albion, I came here to make the jump to Europe. I hope it happens and whatever God wants.”
Paraguayan football expert Roberto Rojas has said of Gomez: “He’s a very box-to-box midfielder, very versatile by being able to track back and also on offense.”
“He works very well in a 4-3-3 supporting the forwards but really isn’t your classic number 10. Not afraid to also score and has the ability to be very hard working. Has a little bit of N’Golo Kante in him mixed with Pascal Gross.”
Brighton have already had a £7 million bid for Gomez turned down. Inter Miami are said to value the 21-year-old at anywhere between £17 million and £25 million.
The step up from MLS to Premier League is huge. Signing Gomez would therefore represent something of a gamble, especially if the fee required to net him end up closer to £25 million than £17 million.
But if he went onto enjoy as much success in a Brighton shirt as Gross, it would be money well spent.
