Last week we gave subscribers the chance to quiz Brighton & Hove Albion correspondent Andy Naylor.
You asked a wide range of questions, from concerns over the future of an injury-stricken striker, to queries over the possible transfer movements of a midfield star.
Here are his answers as we start gearing up for a tenth successive season in the Premier League for the club, including Europe for the second time…
Brighton have made significant progress over the last few years in terms of our overall league performance and financial position, but how do you see that progression from here? Is it more of the same and hope/expectation that the algorithm stays ahead of the competition, or will they try to hang on to their better players and build a side? — Nicholas B.
More of the same, or at least something very similar. The model will not be changed, just tweaked, as it becomes progressively more difficult to improve beyond the club they have become.
The global database of owner-chairman Tony Bloom is expanding all the time in an attempt to keep on unearthing gems and staying ahead of an increasing number of clubs going down a similar route.
Players, particularly young players, sign for Brighton because they know they will get opportunities that would be unavailable to them at bigger clubs at an early stage in their development, safe in the knowledge that obstacles will not be put in their way if they progress to the point where those bigger clubs see them as first-team ready.
Buy relatively cheap, improve, sell big. That is it in a nutshell and that is not going to be ditched. What has changed is fishing in deeper pools to improve the squad. They are now buying regularly in the £25-£50million fee range.
After the experience of our Europa League campaign (2023-24), what lessons do you think the club have learned in preparing better for another season of European football next season? Our injury record was awful that season and we finished it quite poorly — Mark N.
The players still around from that 2023-24 season will be better prepared this time, as will the club in dealing with the logistics of Europe, such as travel arrangements and recovery time.
The injury record has been pretty bad in the past two seasons as well, although in the vast majority of cases they were not preventable.
The biggest lesson is the need for a deeper squad in terms of quantity and quality. It has been proven time and time again for clubs of Brighton’s size that league form suffers when they are also competing in Europe.
Fabian Hurzeler already makes multiple substitutions in the second half of games. Ideally, he would be in a position to make 11 changes from a Thursday Europa Conference League fixture for a Premier League game three days later. That is extreme, but the thinking could change around some young players on the fringes of first team squad contention who, without Europe, might have been sent out on loan.
Former Manchester United prospect Nehemiah Oriola is poised to sign a new contract and the 19-year-old winger will remain in house, as revealed by The Athletic last week.
That is a benefit of competing in UEFA’s third rather than second competition. There are still potentially difficult fixtures in the Europa Conference League, but they are fewer than in the Europa League. That gives Hurzeler more scope to tinker without results suffering.
Fabian Hurzeler could use more squad depth to compete in Europe (David Watts/Getty Images)
Is there any more insight on Carlos Baleba, who 12 months ago looked like the next Moises Caicedo, but is now just a shadow of the player he used to be? Was it the Manchester United interest (I can’t believe the effect could have lasted all season), or is there something else going on? — David U.
It is rarely a straight line upwards for young players during their development. They are more prone to inconsistency.
Baleba had a personal issue at one stage during the season, which the club decided was not for public knowledge. I mention it because fans (and journalists) will often be unaware of circumstances in players’ private lives that may impact on performances.
In similar vein, we only see the players performing on a matchday. The head coach and his staff will also take into consideration what they see in training and what the detailed metrics about every player are telling them.
Baleba’s head was turned initially by Manchester United’s interest. Ultimately, it is up to the player to reproduce the form that aroused their interest in the first place.
BHAFC don’t often get recruitment wrong and it’s inevitable that some reasonable bets on youth just don’t work out. Valentin Barco seems an exception — one that either got away or went far too cheap, when it was already clear that his ceiling was high. I get that Hurzeler may have preferred a different profile or personality, but how did we not extract full value in any transfer? — Trist H.
The Argentinian was signed in January 2024 under Roberto De Zerbi. He had reservations about Barco defensively and therefore saw his potential as a winger rather than as a left-back.
Barco failed to impress on loan to Sevilla in the first half of 2024-25 after Hurzeler replaced De Zerbi. The writing was on the wall when Hurzeler said that Brighton was “not the right environment” for Barco just as he was about to join Strasbourg in January 2025, on loan with an obligation to buy at the end of that season.
A small profit was made on the fee of around £8million paid for Barco when he was bought from Boca Juniors. Given his profile at that stage, that was about right. Of course, now that he is in Argentina’s World Cup squad and seemingly soon to join Chelsea, it has the feel of a mistake.
That is the nature of the beast. Not all signings work out and clubs can look foolish if a player then goes on to bigger and better things elsewhere. The trick is to get most signings right. Brighton’s track record is strong on that basis.
How much input does Hurzeler have over the profile of player we go after? I understand the ultimate decision lies with the club and the data, but it seems like we’ve been prioritising more athletic, physically dominant profiles that Hurzeler likes in recent windows. How much input does he have in that process? — Nick.
Recruitment has changed dramatically since the early to mid 2000s when then manager Micky Adams, for example, would spend hours on the road all over the country personally vetting transfer targets.
The modern day setup is that Hurzeler essentially coaches the squad of players at his disposal. Of course, he plays a part in shaping that squad. His playing style will certainly impact the list of targets.
Take the signing of Portugese right-back Costinha from Olympiacos in this window. Hurzeler will outline the type of right-back he wants and the key attributes he is looking for. It is then down to the recruitment process to fit all of the pieces together. A list of candidates could include some names tracked in previous windows (Costinha was a target a year ago), or others identified from the data-bank of owner-chairman Tony Bloom.
Do the numbers stack up (fee and wages)? What are his personal circumstances, as they could play a part in how he settles? Is he a good fit for the squad character-wise? Hurzeler will speak to the player at some point to explain his plans and expectations.
Is there any path back to our first team for Evan Ferguson? — Warwick S.
The short answer is maybe. The No 9 alternatives to Danny Welbeck — who turns 36 in November — are questionable. The rule of thumb last season was that Welbeck did not start matches back-to-back when there were quick turnarounds.
That could happen a lot in the coming season, depending on progress in the Europa Conference League. Charalampos Kostoulas and Greek compatriot Stefanos Tzimas are both promising but raw. Georginio Rutter is more effective as the No 10.
Can Ferguson again be that breath of fresh air that burst on to the Premier League scene as an uninhibited 18-year-old in 2022-23? A lack of goals combined with persistent ankle issues have sapped his confidence since then. There were signs of a revival last season at Roma until further ankle trouble requiring surgery cut short the loan.
Ferguson will not be back for pre-season according to his camp, which is a shame. The hope is that he will be available for the start of the season, but there are no guarantees about that, so what happens next with the now 21-year-old is unlikely to become apparent until the later stages of the transfer window.
He needs a period of being fully fit to launch a fresh start. That could be at Brighton or elsewhere.
Evan Ferguson’s future remains unclear (Steve Bardens/Getty Images)
Is next season the one where we see Lewis Dunk’s involvement decrease, or do you think as long as he is able he will play? — Nick D.
The latter. The core group of experienced players in the squad has been eroded by the departures of Solly March, Adam Webster and (probably) Joel Veltman, along with the retirement of James Milner.
The skipper turns 35 in November, but his importance to Hurzeler at the heart of the defence will not diminish, especially after the move of regular partner Jan Paul van Hecke to Tottenham. Dunk has started at least 33 of the 38 Premier League games in seven of the club’s nine seasons in the Premier League. I do not see that level of consistency and dependency altering drastically in 2026-27.
With an early qualifying round for the Europa Conference League, has that affected our pre-season training plans? Along with the World Cup delaying some of our squad coming back for pre-season? — Tony C.
Usually there is one home friendly against foreign opposition the weekend before the league season starts. This time there are two, both against Italian clubs — Roma on August 8 and Bologna on August 15. That is followed by the first leg of the ECL play-offs on August 20 and the first league fixture against Aston Villa at the Amex on August 23.
The players report back for pre-season in the second week of July (the World Cup finishes on July 19). They have a training camp in late July through to the beginning of August in France, including friendlies (full details at the time of writing are embargoed).
What’s the ambition of the club next season? — Asaolu O.
To be competitive across all four competitions, which includes pushing to once again qualify for Europe through a strong finishing position in the league.
It is a challenge now for the club to keep pace with the expectations of sections of the fanbase. The next big step would be to win a major trophy. It does not help that rivals Crystal Palace have won the FA Cup and Europa Conference League in successive seasons. That increases the pressure. The latter of those competitions, all things considered, offers the best chance of ending the wait for silverware.
If you reflect on all your time covering the team, what season did you have the most anticipation for? For me, the season heading to the Europa League — mackiechang
