Brighton Player Ratings April 2024
April 2024 was a tale of two goalkeepers for Brighton with one being voted WAB Player of the Month and another topping the Player Ratings.
Over 50 percent of Seagulls supporters picked Arijanet Muric as their best Brighton player through April on account of him scoring the only Brighton goal of the month.
A simple back pass from Sander Berge rolled under the foot of Muric for a comical own goal, giving the Albion a 1-1 draw at Burnley. Oh yeah. We should have mentioned Muric plays for Burnley and not Brighton.
In terms of Albion goalkeepers, Bart Verbruggen meanwhile was in fine form to underly what most Brighton fans hope is his new-found status as number one following months of Roberto De Zerbi rotating between him and Jason Steele.
Verbruggen topped the April Brighton Player Ratings with a score of 6.47, underlying what a disappointing month this was for the Albion – five games, two draws, three heavy defeats and a solitary goal scored by the Burnley goalkeeper.
Just two other individuals – Carlos Baleba and Jan Paul van Hecke – joined Verbruggen in the six club as a result.
If you are looking for positives, the top five are all aged under 24. Brighton might be going through a tough period but as De Zerbi has maintained, it can be good in the long-term for the development of this young squad with such potential.
Bart Verbruggen – 6.47
Kept a clean sheet in the 0-0 draw at Brentford, representing the Albion’s only point other than the one gifted by Muric. Followed up with three excellent saves against Arsenal, without which Brighton would have suffered heavier than a 3-0 defeat.
Carlos Baleba – 6.36
More good than bad through April and second spot in the Player Ratings suggests the second most expensive player in Brighton history is moving in the right direction. It will be exciting to see what he brings to the party next season.
Jan Paul van Hecke – 6.20
Both Van Hecke and Dunk did a fine job keeping Ivan Toney quiet at the Gtech Stadium. How important the Dutchman has become to the Albion this season was properly underlined when Brighton shipped three goals without him in an embarrassing defeat at Bournemouth.
Julio Enciso – 5.94
Only made two substitute appearances in April yet that was enough to put him fourth in the Brighton Player Ratings. Looked more likely than any of his teammates to make something happen in both those outings from the bench against Brentford and Bournemouth.
Joao Pedro – 5.94
A welcome return after over eight weeks out with a hamstring injury. Looked understandably rusty at times but could consider himself a little unlucky not to score at Burnley.
Lewis Dunk – 5.92
Tough month for Dunk at the heart of a Brighton defence which shipped 11 goals. He did at least look like one of the few Albion players who cared in the Bournemouth debacle.
Facundo Buonanotte – 5.91
Nothing terrible in April but nothing particularly good either. Decent at Bournemouth but let down by decision making at times. That will hopefully come improve with experience.
Igor Julio – 5.88
Igor has established himself as a firm WAB favourite due to how wildly inconsistent he is. Was the best Brighton player on the pitch at Burnley after replacing the injured Pervis Estupinan. Fast forward two weeks and Igor looked like he had never played football in his life against Bournemouth.
Pascal Gross – 5.46
The theory that Brighton only play well when Gross plays well was borne out in April. His worst month of the campaign resulted in the Albion’s worst month of the campaign.
Joel Veltman – 5.39
April was the first time in his Brighton career Veltman seemed to struggle. Picked up a booking at Burnley as the Clarets had a lot of joy attacking in wide areas and was hauled after 45 minutes in the 4-0 hammering against Manchester City.
Danny Welbeck – 5.29
No goals for Dat Guy although the total lack of service did not help. His best moment of April came with the news Brighton have offered Welbeck a new contract with his current deal set to expire this summer.
Tariq Lamptey – 5.25
Came off the bench at Brentford and started against Arsenal, giving away the penalty from which the Gunners opened the scoring. Not been seen since with another muscle injury.
Jakub Moder – 4.93
Having been used mainly in the number 10 role in recent months, De Zerbi switched things up by using him as a holding midfielder at times in April. It did not really work, strengthening the viewpoint that nobody actually knows what Moder’s best position is.
Simon Adingra – 4.79
The exertions of his first season as a Premier League regular and at AFCON appeared to catch up with Adingra in April. He looked tired and jaded, although there was a certain amount of irony in De Zerbi deciding to rest him against City in the one game when his pace would have been a major asset.
Adam Lallana – 4.53
Brighton enjoyed their best spell against Burnley once Lallana was introduced for the final 15 minutes. Appeared to be playing over 45s walking football in the City game, however, and was subsequently withdrawn at half time.
Pervis Estupinan – 4.42
His season came to an end with an injury at Burnley which the club have since decided to operate on. The revelation Estupinan has been playing through the pain barrier for months now explains why he has looked a shadow of the player he was last season.
Valentin Barco – 4.34
Not the best of player ratings but Barco certainly brought plenty of entertainment to Brighton in April. Gave City their third goal and yet still managed to be one of the better Albion players in a display highlighting his rich potential.
Ansu Fati – 4.02
2-0 down away at Bournemouth and De Zerbi brings on Veltman and Adam Webster over Fati. The only logical explanation is Brighton have to pay Barcelona some sort of fee if Fati reaches a certain amount of minutes or appearances, he is on the verge of doing so and the Albion are actively trying to avoid it.
Odel Offiah – 3.93
The nephew of rugby legend Martin Offiah was a surprise half time introduction in place of Veltman against City. Then made his full Premier League debut at Bournemouth in something of a baptism of fire.
Mark O’Mahony – 3.59
Substitute appearances against Burnley and City were followed by a first Albion start in the Bournemouth game with Welbeck rested. He was starved of service and brought off at half time.
Jason Steele – 2.63
Talk about being thrown under the bus. With Verbruggen playing so well, De Zerbi opted to recall Steele for the visit of City to the Amex. Not much he could do about the four goals and really should never have been put in that position.
