Brighton's unbelievable midfield depth has got many fans thinking: who gets in our best midfield three?
Five wins, two draws and one loss. That is Brighton and Hove Albion’s record in all competitions so far this season - a remarkable start for a club the stature of Brighton. One of the key reasons to this success is undoubtedly down to our midfield. Any combination is robust in defence, and clinical going forward - giving performances Fabian Hurzeler would’ve been dreaming of over the summer. However, our form got me thinking. What does our best midfield three look like?
Obviously, it’s important to think about who could play where. Players such as Diego Gomez and Mats Wieffer are central midfielders by trade, however, have found themselves playing consistently on the right wing and right back respectively over the course of the last few seasons. Injuries aside, that leaves Brighton with six players to fill three positions: Jack Hinshelwood, Pascal Gross, Chema Andres, Yasin Ayari, Matt O’Riley and Malick Yalcouyé.
Fabian Hurzeler rarely deviates from his 4-2-3-1 system, allowing a more advanced attacking midfielder sit in front of two deeper midfielders. This particular role was occupied by Jack Hinshelwood with great effect at the beginning of the season, proving why he should be in this conversation with a terrific performance against Aston Villa on the opening day - resulting in him scoring two goals in two minutes.
Hinshelwood’s injury means the position has been shared by German veteran Pascal Gross and the electric Ivorian Malick Yalcouyé, with both players have excelling so far this season.
Gross’ technical ability is second to none, and I believe one of the best midfielders in the league. His constant habit of scoring goals in massive moments for The Albion was encapsulated over the last two games, scoring against Manchester United in a remarkable comeback on top of starting the scoring in Brighton’s demolition of Arsenal just three days later. Yalcouyé has also been magnificent - his relentless work ethic and desire to win the ball surely earns him a place in our best team alongside Gross.
Matt O’Riley has featured fleetingly so far this season, mostly coming off the bench in most games. However, the ex-Celtic man has showed encouraging signs so far. His cameo off the bench against Arsenal almost resulted in a goal, however his near-post finish was sharply stopped by Spanish goalkeeper David Raya.
On the topic of Spanish internationals, Chema Andres looks to be Brighton’s next big signing. Following his reported £20 million move from Stuttgart, Chema has hit the ground running at the Albion, also performing well against United and Arsenal. His towering header to give Albion their third of the afternoon last weekend and looks set to prove himself as a regular first team player in favour of Swede Yasin Ayari.
Since Ayari’s move to the Albion in 2023, he has taken huge strides to becoming one of the most hardworking midfielders in England. Like Yalcouyé, Ayari holds a desire to never give up. Furthermore, his ball-winning prowess and constant 8/10 performances has convinced me to put him alongside Yalcouyé and Gross in our best midfield.
