Brighton & Hove Albion

Last season: 8th

This season: 9th

There is European football back at Brighton this season in the Conference League, and that will put added workload on Fabian Hurzeler's squad - but it will be relished at this well-run club.

Danny Welbeck's goals and experience will be a loss, along with the retired James Milner and Tottenham recruit Jan Paul van Hecke, but Brighton feel they have pulled off a special deal by signing young defender Luka Vuskovic from Spurs for £46m.

Pascal Struijk's arrival from Leeds adds defensive experience, and with plenty of quality elsewhere, Amex Stadium will again be an entertaining place to be this season.

• Read more of Phil's predictions

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Teams in the bottom half of the Premier League in 2025-26 finished with more points than they had in years, meaning that judging them simply by their position in the table is perhaps a little harsh.

Everton may have been underwhelmed with their 13th-place finish but it was the most points a team in that position had finished with since the Toffees themselves in 1999-2000.

The points of the four places below them were all the highest they have been in the Premier League for 23 years and West Ham can consider themselves unlucky to have gone down with the highest points total for an 18th-placed side since 2010-11.

However, competition has come at a cost.

One place where the Premier League has become less competitive - because it has become more fiercely-contested overall - is at the very bottom.

While it is almost expected for one side to be cut adrift long before the end of the season, nowadays two sides are getting left behind.

The average points tally of the second-bottom side in a 38-game season is 31, meaning teams that finish there have usually competed in a relegation battle for most of the season before ultimately falling short.

After the Premier League was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, only two 19th-placed sides failed to reach 30 points in the first 21 seasons. But in the past decade, seven of the 10 sides to finish in that position have failed to do so.

In the past two seasons, promoted sides Ipswich and Burnley have both finished there with just 22 points - the fewest ever taken by a second-bottom side.

Relegation battles are now mostly a fight to see who takes the final spot in the bottom three, with the other two accounted for long before the final day - often by promoted sides.

But inspired by the survival of Sunderland and Leeds, promoted trio Coventry City, Ipswich Town and Hull City will all be hoping they have what it takes to match the competitiveness of the Premier League this season.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler and captain Lewis Dunk have been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa Conference League qualifier against Tromso at Romssa Arena (kick-off 18:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from Hurzeler's news conference:

• Carlos Baleba – the subject of an approach from Manchester United – Kaoru Mitoma and Stefanos Tzimas are doubtful starters due to injury and Yankuba Minteh is out.

• There could be starts for new signings Pascal Struijk, Luka Vuskovic and Promise David.

• Hurzeler says Tromso's style of play is "very impressive", particularly the intense nature of their press.

• He urged his side to take the final step in qualifying for the Conference League: "There's a big opportunity for us. The boys worked hard through the whole of last season and we went through a lot of highs and lows together, but we always showed resilience. This is the reward and now it's up to us that we will finish this work by being successful in these two games."

And Seagulls captain Dunk told reporters:

• The club's players have paid for a refund of tickets for the 407 fans travelling to the game in northern Norway. Gifts of scarves and t-shirts will also be issued to travelling supporters.

• He said: "The fans didn't know where they were going until the last minute. It's a long trip for the them, last minute to organise. We thought we want to start the season off well for the fans and make a gesture by refunding their tickets as a group. "Hopefully the fans appreciate this gesture from the players and it's a good start to a good season with them and we can all enjoy it along the way."

• Dunk also played down the significance of Tromso's artificial pitch, stating: "The ball bounces and moves differently to playing on grass, but 80% of the squad probably grew up playing on that. Hopefully, with a bit of water on it, the ball will move quickly."

Got a question about Brighton? Get in touch here and we'll seek answers from our experts

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We asked for your views on the signing of Promise David and Brighton's transfer approach this summer.

Here are some of your comments:

Adam: This seems to be a very good signing and his record looks very good. My only real concern is Fabian Hurzeler has a habit of leaving new signings out for them to 'gain experience' in the Premier League. We don't really have any time to wait and see after the exit of Danny Welbeck. I just hope he's really good and bags lots of goals. Also, I hope Chelsea give us at least a season before trying to sign him...

Steve: Potentially a very good signing and a much-needed striker. Overall, we appear to have made some decent acquisitions, but we have also lost quality and, as I write, rumours have emerged that Manchester United are in negotiations for Carlos Baleba, who in my opinion, would be a major loss. Maybe best to wait until the window is closed to pass judgement!

Colin: Signing Promise David on loan with a commitment to buy if the player reaches certain targets has all the potential to be a brilliant bit of risk-free business. Having seen his goal reels, he certainly looks very quick, direct and strong and doesn't appear to go down at the slightest touch.

Fran: At last we get a striker. I know we are in Europe, but do we really need all those defenders, and will they be happy being on the bench as we cannot play them all? I still think we need a creative midfielder who can open up defences. I watched the friendlies and I thought we looked solid at the back. Tidy in midfield but a little light up front! Still, I am looking forward to the new season.

Bob: With our European campaign looming, I think we need to retain as many players as we can. With the increase in games, we will inevitably suffer from injuries. The larger the squad, the better the chance of competing in both the Conference League and the Premier League.

In this week's episode of Albion Unlimited from BBC Radio Sussex, Johnny Cantor was joined by Norwegian football expert Guillermo Munoz to look ahead to Brighton's trip to Tromso in the Conference League on Thursday.

Munoz said: "Currently Tromso are third in the top division of Norwegian football. They have a firm chance in the title race, having lost just three of their 17 league matches so far.

"They're well organised and are quite tactically versatile. Their current head coach, Jorgen Vik, has outlined their strategy quite clearly: establishing a defensive threat from behind with a goalkeeper who is comfortable with his feet, finding free players and launching attack after attack."

Cantor then asked about Tromso's continuing form despite losing one of their top goalscorers to Hull City, Jens Hjerto-Dahl.

"It's not just Jens, their whole squad has taken a serious hit," Munoz said. "They've lost two important centre-backs, as well as their 20-year-old home-grown jewel to Hull City. He was more than just goals; he connected the midfield and attack."

So are Tromso looking to benefit from a home advantage against Brighton? And will many Tromso fans make the trip to Brighton for the second leg?

Munoz added: "When it comes to the artificial pitch, I think it's going to be interesting because it's definitely been a popular topic in Europe. The ball can travel in a number of directions, the bounce might be slightly different, the game might have a faster pace.

"I think Brighton, as Premier League players, are more than able to adapt to it. I think the issue is just not that Brighton players can't adapt, it's Tromso's familiarity with it.

"They're definitely one of the best-supported teams in Norway, they have a dedicated fan group. Brighton is a Premier League club, it's close to London.

"Many Tromso fans were probably watching the Premier League before they got into Norwegian football, so there should be a good number of fans coming."

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton sporting director Mike Cave says latest summer signing Promise David is a player the club has been "watching for some time".

The 25-year-old joins on a season-long loan from Union Saint-Gilloise, with the deal including an obligation to buy if certain criteria are met.

Promise has made 82 appearances for the Belgian Pro League side, scoring 41 goals and providing nine assists, since signing in July 2024.

"He is someone we have been watching for some time," Cave said. "He is an out-and-out striker who possesses outstanding physical attributes and a track record of scoring goals.

"His experience at international level and in European competition will hopefully prove valuable this season.

"At 25 years old, he is entering his prime playing years and we are excited to see him continue to develop in our environment."

Promise has scored four goals in 12 appearances across the Champions League and Europa League, while also representing Canada at the 2026 World Cup.

Are you happy with Fabian Hurzeler's new addition? How do you feel about Brighton's transfer approach this summer?

Get in touch with your views here

Eli Junior Kroupi, Igor Thiago and Nico O'Reilly were among the breakout stars who made their mark on the Premier League last season - but who will be next?

BBC Sport's TV and radio commentators have picked 13 players they believe are worth watching out for over the next few months.

Brighton's Luka Vuskovic is on the list ...

Image source, PA Media

Name: Luka Vuskovic Age: 19 Position: Centre-back Country: Croatia

Steve Wilson: Playing for just over an hour at the World Cup for Croatia would have come as a disappointment to the teenager, who had just enjoyed a stellar season at Hamburg on loan from Tottenham.

Brighton knew what they were doing when they made signing Vuskovic a condition of selling Jan Paul van Hecke to Spurs. Not only was he one of the best young defenders in Germany last season, he was also the Bundesliga's top-scoring centre-back.

Vuskovic looks ready to come straight into top-flight action, and how many signings do Brighton get wrong?

Find the full list of possible breakout stars here

Wolves have entered the race for Brighton winger Amario Cozier-Duberry, 21, with the England under-20 international remaining a target for Rangers and former loan club Bolton. (The Argus), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen helps preview the season, with a focus on Aston Villa on Sunday - plus Norwegian football expert Guillermo Munoz joins to look ahead to the trip to Tromso.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Explore all Brighton content on BBC Sounds

Listen to every Brighton game live on BBC Radio Sussex, with all the build-up and full commentary with Johnny Cantor and Warren Aspinall, and there is a full preview of all Seagulls' matches on Fridays at 18:00 in The Weekend Warm-up

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Last season, the Premier League was arguably more competitive than it has been for years.

While the 65 points between champions Arsenal and bottom side Wolves was around the average for a 38-game season (63), a real revolution took place in mid-table.

Since the league was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, the gap between the top four and the bottom three – between what has often been the Champions League and the Championship – had been increasing as the seasons went by, with the 'bigger' clubs profiting from their European adventures and the extra money they earned by regularly finishing higher in the table.

But last season, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' of the Premier League dropped from 44 points in 2024-25 to just 26 points – the smallest distance for 23 years (since 25 points in 2002-03).

The European places were more attainable than they had been for years. Despite taking a point fewer than when they finished seventh the season before, Aston Villa clinched Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher.

While Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, their points total of 60 was the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years and would have put them ninth in 2024-25.

Bournemouth and Sunderland also took full advantage of needing fewer points than normal by qualifying for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

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Brighton's new signings need some "time to adapt" to the team but have shown what they are capable of in pre-season, says Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

The Albion beat Bologna in a pre-season friendly on Saturday and kick off their season on Thursday with a Europa Conference League play-off tie against Tromso.

"The club is feeling good, the group is feeling strong," Verbruggen told BBC Radio Sussex. "Obviously with some new players and the players that left you need some time to get to know each other and adapt to each other.

"The young players who have been here will get called up a little bit more now than last season and that's very good news for them. I think they showed a good, fresh impression and for the new players, I think they did really well. They're all great characters and great players and the game [against Bologna] showed why they're capable of playing for our team.

"Vuskovic has really impressed me. He's only 19-years-old and he plays very mature. He's a great guy, everybody loves him and I think the quality he showed on the pitch is very, very high so, very positive and I look forward to spending more time with him."

Head Coach Fabian Hurzeler also spoke to BBC Radio Sussex, and confirmed Yankuba Minteh's injury will keep him out of action for a while.

"He will miss for a long period and it's definitely a problem for us because he is a key player but we will find a way to manage this," Hurzeler said. "Beside that we don't have many injury concerns, we had some unlucky injuries you can't avoid happening in a contact sport, but overall we were quite smooth for pre-season.

"We seem to be in a good place but now we have to prove it on the pitch and we will see in serious competitions where we are but overall it's positive so let's go."

Hear more from Hurzeler below or on BBC Sounds here

Listen to Verbruggen's full interview

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Brighton concluded their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 win over Serie A side Bologna at The Amex Stadium on Saturday.

After a quiet opening half, Jack Hinshelwood scored the only goal just before the hour mark by flicking home a Mats Wieffer shot from close range.

Fabian Hurzeler's side sign off from pre-season with a 100% record as they now prepare for Thursday's Conference League play-off first leg against Tromso in Norway.

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton midfielder Diego Gomez says he is "very happy" at Amex Stadium after committing his future to the club by signing a new five-year contract.

The 23-year-old, who joined the Seagulls in January 2025, has racked up 56 appearances and scored 11 goals in all competitions.

He has also featured 20 times for Paraguay at international level, including four starts at this summer's World Cup.

"This is a great club where I've been made to feel like I'm at home," Gomez said. "Last season - my first full season - was fantastic for me.

"I'm very happy here. That's what made me want to sign a new contract at the club. I want to thank all of the fans, they always support me and always chant my name, which makes me feel very proud.

"Of course, I'm going to do the best I can at all times and leave everything on the pitch this season. I will do everything I can to win something with this club."

Sporting director Mike Cave added: "He has been an important player for us since his arrival and we are pleased to have secured his long-term future.

"He has adapted to Premier League football seamlessly and embedded himself as a key player in the squad.

"We believe he will continue to develop this season and be an important player for us in achieving our goals this season and beyond."

Serie A side Genoa are interested in signing striker Evan Ferguson on loan from Brighton. (Talksport), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Brighton and Cameroon midfielder Carlos Baleba is a target for Newcastle as they look to replace Brazilian Bruno Guimaraes and Italian Sandro Tonali. (Mail), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

It is common practice these days for transfer fees to have performance-based add-ons. The theory is the selling club gains more if the player goes on to be extremely successful, while the buying club is to some extent protected financially if the transfer doesn't work out.

In some cases, the total value of add-ons is significant - Real Madrid could end up paying an extra £30m to Borussia Dortmund for Jude Bellingham depending on how successful he is over the course of his career in the Spanish capital, for example.

In others, like the potential £1.7m worth of add-ons Brighton's £29.78m signing of Greece Under-21 forward Charalampos Kostoulas, are less significant.

Clubs sometimes say add-ons are 'easily achievable' or 'difficult'.

Easier-to-achieve add-ons can include things like making a basic number of appearances, or scoring a certain amount of goals. Add-ons can also be attached to a team's success rather than the individual player's - a club may agree to an add-on requiring an extra payment if they qualify for Europe, for example.

Others can be more ambitious - tied to extreme levels of individual or collective success, like winning the Champions League or the Ballon d'Or.

An example of the difficulty add-ons can present when discussing valuations would be the claims made in the Portuguese media in 2022 that the first additional payment in Darwin Nunez's £64m-plus-add-ons move from Benfica to Liverpool was triggered by the Uruguayan making just 10 appearances.

Then Liverpool boss Arne Slot rejected speculation he had not started Nunez in some games because it would trigger an additional payment.

Whether Liverpool paid more for Nunez, or club captain Virgil van Dijk - for whom they paid a flat fee of £75m to Southampton in 2017 - cannot be determined without knowing exactly what add-ons were included in the Nunez deal, then figuring out which conditions he has and has not met.

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