“Lewis is Dunk is Lewis Dunk”. That went one of the arguments over where Lewis Dunk should come straight back into the Brighton team after four weeks out with a calf injury.
And at any point over the previous nine years, that would have been the end of the argument. The Albion captain has been the first name on the team sheet, indispensable as both a defender and a leader, going all the way back to autumn 2015 when he regained the trust of Chris Hughton after refusing to play in a League Cup tie because he wanted a £5 million move to Fulham.
Few players in Brighton history have been a mainstay of the starting XI for such a prolonged period. It is particularly impressive when you consider the Albion have gone from losing to Rotherham United to beating Marseille and Ajax in Europe over that time.
Dunk – and to a lesser extent Solly March – have been constant during the rise from Championship to Premier League top six. As the quality of opposition the Albion were facing – and beating – increased, so too did Dunk’s performances.
The Seagulls though have coped rather well in the absence of their captain, leaving Fabian Hurzeler with a genuine conundrum. Does Dunk return as soon as he is fit and available, potentially for the trip to Plucky Little Bournemouth?
Jan Paul van Hecke has been the Albion’s best centre back for approaching 12 months now. He is every bit the natural successor to Dunk in terms of what he offers defensively and as a leader.
Presuming Van Hecke remains at Brighton – and there have been surprisingly few links with bigger clubs – he looks certain to inherit the captain’s armband in the future.
Hurzeler is therefore left to decide between Dunk and Igor Julio. This is a scenario you would have got long odds on in the summer, when Igor was used as an example why it would have been dangerous to give Roberto De Zerbi the bigger say in recruitment the former head coach wanted.
Mahmoud Dahoud. Ansu Fati. Igor. All players De Zerbi pushed to sign. The implication being all three were crap. Justifying one of the reasons why Brighton parted ways with De Zerbi.
Except Igor is not crap. Far from it. He can be erratic. But he can also be a really good defender. He is also a naturally left sided player, offering greater balance in a back four.
Igor is yet to put a foot wrong this season since getting his chance. He initially replaced the injured Adam Webster, who had replaced the injured Van Hecke.
When Dunk was then stuck down by his calf injury in the warmup ahead of the 2-2 home draw with Wolves, Igor stepped into the starting XI at the last minute.
Do not underestimate how difficult a situation that would have been for a defender mentally ready to begin the afternoon on the bench.
Whereas Igor has been in the best form of his Albion career these past seven weeks, Dunk has been playing below his admittedly ridiculously high standards this season.
There are a multitude of possible reasons for this. Age and mileage. Dunk has just turned 33 and has missed only 28 league matches since the start of the 2016-17 promotion season. He has barely had a rest for seven years and that can catch up with you eventually.
Then there are the European Championships to consider. Dunk might not have played for England in Germany. But he was still out there, training every day, very much part of the squad.
Plenty of the players who came so close to ending the long wait for England to win an international trophy have been slow to start the current season.
That can be put down to a Euros hangover; the disappointment of what might have been still lingering. If it can leave a serial trophy winner like Phil Foden still awaiting his first Premier League goal of the campaign as December approaches, then it can also impact Dunk.
What should Hurzeler do then? No idea to be honest. Picking between Dunk and Igor is not a decision your correspondent would want to be making.
Which is why Hurzeler is a highly paid professional football coach and I will be 10 pints down before 3pm on a Saturday. And probably complaining about whichever way the Youngest Permanent Head Coach in Premier League History calls it.
Dropping Igor would be harsh. Dunk has too much credit in the bank to sit on the bench. Their performance levels have been similar so far in 2024-25, which only serves to cloud the issue further.
If I had to guess, I would say Dunk comes in if fully fit. Igor was a big part of a Albion defence which kept a backs-to-the-wall clean sheet in the 1-0 win at Newcastle United in October.
Yet the fit-again Van Hecke returned to the starting XI against Wolves. It was only Dunk suffering that calf injury in the warmup which meant Igor retaining his place for Brighton.
Whatever Hurzeler decides, it is a nice problem to have. A lack of squad depth was one of the reasons the Albion’s season fell apart from February onwards.
To be sat here with 1000 words debating whether Dunk should start for Brighton after injury – a previously unthinkable question – is good news in the quest for a return to Europe.
