Brighton team preview: top stars, smart options & potential flops

BRIGHTON players will be considerably more popular in Dream Team this season if they win their Conference League play-off. English clubs have dominated Uefa’s tertiary competition since its inception in 2022 with West Ham, Chelsea and Crystal Palace all lifting the trophy in the last four years. PLAY DREAM TEAM NOW: £100,000 PRIZE POT! Brighton are targeting European glory this season Credit: Alamy The addition of favourable European commitments will put the Seagulls firmly in the sights of crafty Dream Team bosses. Sign up for the Football newsletter Thank you! Here we have analysed the top stars, smart options and potential flops in Fabian Hurzeler’s squad. TOP STARS Yankuba Minteh (£4m) is the exact type of player who might capitalise on a Thursday night when Brighton are up against a team difficult to pinpoint on a map — see Ismaila Sarr last season. The 22-year-old winger has talent to burn and while his end product still needs refining, he’s a potential matchwinner whenever he steps onto the pitch. Minteh limped off during a pre-season win over Roma at the weekend but Hurzeler remained optimistic when questioned on the incident after the game. Elsewhere, Bart Verbruggen (£4m) is a fantastic goalkeeper worthy of an increased price tag in 2026/27. Most read in Football The Netherlands international enhanced his reputation at the World Cup with some sharp saves and is said to be courted by some big European clubs. If he stays at the Amex he will be hopeful of a sizeable clean sheet tally — only Arsenal and Manchester City conceded fewer home league goals than Brighton in 2025/26. Kadioglu has bags of potential as a Dream Team asset Credit: Getty Those defensive numbers also improve Ferdi Kadioglu’s (3.5m) viability. The Turkish left-back was voted Brighton’s Player of the Year in May, a reflection of his work rate and tactical awareness. Truth be told, Kadioglu is yet to truly light up Dream Team but those who watch him regularly will agree he’s capable of useful returns. Play Dream Team this season! £100,000 in prize money up for grabs in 2026/27 Free to enter Play in Mini Leagues against your mates £60,000 jackpot for the overall winner £1,000 prize for winning Gameweek 1 PLAY DREAM TEAM NOW! SMART OPTIONS Pascal Gross (£3.5m) ticks a lot of boxes. A clever, well-rounded footballer, the German midfielder has several routes to points: tackles, bonus points, big chances created and assists. His goal threat has diminished in recent years so gaffers shouldn’t expect mega hauls but he’s a reliable, affordable asset who tends to tick over — a steady hand for the first two or three months of the campaign. Gross is now 35 years old so it’s understandable if Dream Team bosses are a tad reluctant but Hurzeler knows better than anyone that the fan favourite’s return from Borussia Dortmund was a decisive factor in propelling the Seagulls away from the relegation scrap to European qualification. Plus, he’s a regular set-piece taker and may even be on penalties. On the other end of the experience scale, 19-year-old Luka Vuskovic (£3.5m) is a player to monitor closely. The young centre-back scored 13 league goals across the last two seasons while on loan at Westerlo and Hamburg — goal-scoring defenders are worth their weight in gold in Dream Team. There is a slight concern about Vuskovic’s playing time but the fact Brighton forked out a club-record fee to sign him from Tottenham suggests he is viewed as Jan Paul van Hecke’s successor. Gross is a reliable performer Credit: Shutterstock Editorial Gaffers should keep an eye on Stefanos Tzimas’ (£2.5m) progress. The Greek striker suffered an ACL rupture last season but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he got his fair share of minutes now Danny Welbeck has departed for Chelsea. His price will look extraordinarily cheap if he is given a run of starts, which certainly isn’t unthinkable. POTENTIAL FLOPS Georginio Rutter (£3.5m) is one of the most entertaining players in the Premier League but Dream Team managers must apply a cold, analytical approach. The talented Frenchman is categorised as a striker – a role he fulfilled more often that not last season – but the general consensus is that he’s more effective as a No10. For all his invention and creativity, Rutter is not a natural goalscorer and so it’s hard to justify his selection as a forward in the world of Dream Team. We would love to be proved wrong but at this stage we have concerns about Kaoru Mitoma (£4m). The Japanese winger is expected to miss the start of the campaign as he continues to recover from the injury that ruled him out of the World Cup. Our main concern is that he hasn’t been able to replicate the form he exhibited in the second half of the 2024/25 season, when he was a relatively popular selection amid a flurry of goal involvements. Mitoma is the joint-most expensive Brighton player prior to Gameweek 1 but his undeniable ability hasn’t translated to satisfactory returns for a while now. Open to residents of UK and Rep of Ireland, 18+ only. T&Cs apply. Comment now