The WAB 2020-21 Power Rankings – Ratings for every Brighton player
Have you ever wondered what would happen if you took every single player ratings score from every single Brighton game this season and used them to rank all 32 players who pulled on an Albion shirt in 2020-21?
No, probably not. Fortunately, we have far too much time on our hands, so Excel was fired up and all your scores given on our Twitter post match ratings threads from the 44 matches the Albion played throughout the campaign were fired in.
A complicated mathematical algorithm was then used and the WAB 2020-21 Power Rankings are the result. This is the definitive rating system as to who was hot (and who was not) for Brighton across their fourth campaign in the Premier League.
32) Michal Karbownik (1.51 points)
Just the one appearance for the Polish full back signed for £5 million from Legia Warsaw. He was rated as the second best Brighton player in that game, February’s FA Cup fifth round exit at the hands of Leicester City. He will surely feature more regularly in 2020-22.
31) Dale Stephens (1.67)
Hands up who remembered that Dale Stephens played a game for the Albion before his transfer to Burnley? Not us. It came in the 4-0 win over Portsmouth in the Camila Cabello Cup when the midfielder scored a 7.33, bettered by only Alexis Mac Allister and Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
30) Christian Walton (2.91)
2020-21 will always be a case of what might have been for Christian Walton. Had he not been ruled out for the first half of the season with an injury picked up in a friendly against Chelsea, then he would have been the man to replace Maty Ryan in goal and not Robert Sanchez. Whilst Sanchez is now at Euro 2020 (in 2021) with Spain, Walton looks set to move on for first team football having made just two FA Cup appearances in the campaign.
29) Jayson Molumby (2.94)
Earned rave reviews at Millwall last season but struggled to break into the senior squad at the Amex in the first half of the season, being restricted to a couple of Camila Cabello Cup appearances and a two minute cameo in November’s 2-1 win at Aston Villa. Moved on loan to Preston North End in January, making eight starts and eight substitutes appearances. It will be interesting to see what happens with him this summer.
28) Max Sanders (2.95)
Topped the player ratings as Brighton won 2-0 at Preston in September on his only start for the Albion of 2020-21. He was highly thought of by the club, so it was something of a surprise when he was allowed to join Lincoln City on a permanent deal in January.
27) Haydon Roberts (2.98)
Like Sanders, Haydon Roberts shone against Preston. Moved to Rochdale on loan shortly after, playing 29 times as Dale were relegated from League One. Brighton will be hoping that he can follow in the footsteps of the last player who spent a season at Deepdale, a certain Senor Sanchez…
26) Viktor Gyokeres (4.40)
One goal from three Camila Cabello Cup appearances before he was loaned to Swansea City. Things never really worked out for him at the Liberty Stadium and he spent the second half of the season at Coventry City, scoring three times from seven starts and 12 substitute appearances.
25) Jason Steele (5.84)
If these were Brighton player ratings reflecting entertainment offered in 2020-21, then Jason Steele would be top of the list by some distance. Ended an extraordinary 120 minutes against Newport County in the FA Cup in which he resembled a Sunday League goalkeeper who had taken MDMA before the game by saving four penalties in the shoot out, sparing the Albion the embarrassment of exiting the competition at the hands of League Two opponents. We love him.
24) Percy Tau (8.54)
In the name of Percy Tau, amen! Two-and-a-half years after Brighton paid £2.5 million to Mamelodi Sundowns, the Lion of Judah finally got a British Work Permit. Was it worth the wait? Hard to say; Tau did well against Manchester City at the Etihad in January and claimed an assist in May’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United but has spent the rest of his time sitting on the bench.
23) Bernardo (9.48)
Christ knows what happened to Bernardo. After being one of the few players to emerge from the second half of the 2018-19 season under Chris Hughton with any credit, he has gone backwards since Graham Potter’s appointment. There were a couple of flashes of his ability but never enough to suggest he has a future at the Amex and he was sent to Red Bull Salzburg on loan in January, suffering a knee ligament injury on his first start.
22) Davy Propper (11.92)
Potter’s reluctance to use Handsome Davy Propper has been one of the strangest aspects of this season. It has cost Propper his place in the Netherlands squad for Euro 2020 (at 2021) and seeing as he is far too good to be sitting on the bench of a club who finished 16th in the Premier League, he will surely be moved on this summer.
21) Andi Zeqiri (12.93)
For a 21-year-old arriving from the second tier of Swiss football, Andi Zeqiri has made a bigger impression on the first team picture than we thought he would. He topped the player ratings against Leicester in the FA Cup with a performance that had a touch of the Glenn Murray’s about it – high praise for a Brighton striker – and it will be intriguing to see how he kicks on from here after an encouraging set of Premier League cameos in 2020-21.
20) Maty Ryan (14.67)
Certain Albion fans want history rewritten to make out that Maty Ryan has been a complete liability from the moment he set foot in Brighton back in 2017. That is plainly not the case and throughout his first three seasons at the Amex, he was largely excellent. His form deserted him in 2020-21 however and there cannot be any doubt that Potter made the right decision in replacing Ryan with Sanchez, a move that has worked out well for all parties with Ryan getting to live the dream on loan with the club he supported as a boy, Arsenal.
19) Jakub Moder (16.35)
Whisper it quietly, but Jakub Moder has the potential to be a superstar. He is versatile, has a great footballing brain and has an eye for goal as we saw when he notched for Poland against England at Wembley. The only disappointment about his Albion career so far? Our Moder on the Dancefloor song to the tune of Sophie Ellis-Bextor is yet to take off.
18) Tariq Lamptey (17.93)
Based on what we saw before injury ruined his season, Tariq Lamptey would have been near the top of the WAB 2020-21 Power Rankings had he completed the campaign. Player of the Month in September, he was attracting the attention of the likes of Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid. Another young player in this Albion squad who has everything needed to go right to the top.
17) Aaron Connolly (18.33)
Aaron Connolly is a striker who received regular opportunities this season and yet finished with only one more goal than Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson. Contributed three of the nominations in the Miss of the Season category at out WAB 2020-21 Season Awards, he looks like he badly needs a loan in the Championship next season to rediscover some semblance of form and sort his attitude out.
16) Alireza Jahanbakhsh (20.05)
Sometimes, Prince Ali does things that make you think he could be a Premier League football. Other times, you wonder if you would be better off with Louie Spence out there. No Premier League goals from six starts and 15 outings as a substitute, he is another player with a decision to make about where his future lies this summer.
15) Steve Alzate (23.87)
Began the season as Yves Bissouma’s midfield partner but found first team opportunities harder to come by when Potter remembered that Pascal Gross exists and is actually rather good. Scored the winner at Anfield when Brighton shocked the Premier League champions in his highlight of 2020-21.
14) Danny Welbeck (34.30)
More than a few eyebrows were raised in October when the Albion announced the signing of Danny Welbeck following his release by Watford. The move has worked out brilliantly as Welbeck scored more goals from open play than any other Brighton player, including vital strikes against the likes of Villa, Sheffield United and The Leeds United. His form has put him in the shop window with other Premier League clubs interested in his services as a free agent. The Seagulls should be doing everything they can to keep him.
13) Alexis Mac Allister (34.78)
A bit of a stop-start first full season in England for the Argentinian playmaker. He was excellent around the turn of the year, doing enough to win WAB Player of the Month for January. Struggled to get into the side either side of that winter purple patch, although he did guarantee hero status forever more with his last minute equaliser against Crystal Palace in October.
12) Solly March (35.88)
Where would Solly March have finished in our WAB 2020-21 Power Rankings had he not missed the final three months of the campaign? Top is our guess as he was utterly superb before that. Alongside Bissouma and Lewis Dunk, he was the first name on the team sheet following his reinvention as a left wing back to the point where he was in contention for an England call up.
11) Dan Burn (39.94)
After Steele, Big Dan Burn is the second-most entertaining player in this Brighton squad. One month, he will be scoring an own goal, giving away a penalty, getting booked and finally hauled off all in the space of 20 minutes against Wolves. The next, he will look like one of the best players on the pitch as Brighton win 1-0 at Anfield.
10) Adam Lallana (40.56)
For a player who was meant to be a washed up sicknote when he arrived from Liverpool in the summer, Adam Lallana has actually made it onto the pitch on 31 occasions. When fit and firing, he is head and shoulders above anyone else Brighton have in the same way that Vicente was a decade ago. A joy to watch, especially in March when he was voted WAB Player of the Month.
9) Robert Sanchez (41.28)
When Potter replaced Ryan with a goalkeeper who had hardly set the world alight at Rochdale and Forest Green Rovers, many people were questioning the Albion manager’s sanity. Six months on and we sit here with that decision being one of the major reasons why Brighton went from having won just two of their opening 18 matches to securing a joint-highest Premier League points total. Sanchez has been an utter revelation.
8) Neal Maupay (45.55)
Public enemy number two after Ryan, Neal Maupay finds himself in eighth spot in the WAB Brighton Power Rankings 2020-21 – something which may come as a bit of a surprise given that he has secured player ratings as low as 3.92 (Liverpool at home), 3.64 (Sheffield United away) and 1.83 (Wolves away). Despite this perception of him having a poor season, the Frenchman still managed to finish as top scorer for the second year running.
7) Adam Webster (45.76)
You could make a case that Adam Webster was the Albion’s best centre back up until February, including when recording the best player ratings score of 2020-21 with his 9.71 as Brighton won 1-0 at Liverpool. He limped off in the 1-1 draw at Burnley three days later, missed the next six weeks (despite Potter saying he expected him back within a few days) and then took a while to shake off the ring rust. If he can replicate his pre-injury form in 2021-22, then there is no reason why he cannot join Ben White in forcing his way into the England squad in the not-too-distant-future.
6) Joel Veltman (48.01)
Every time we write something about Joel Veltman, we are obliged to tell you that he cost only £900,000 last summer from Ajax. Once he forced his way into the first team in October, there was no looking back. He has played in every position across the back three this season, at right back and as a right wing back. Has not made a single mistake which is a rarity amongst Brighton players; a solid 7/10 every week.
5) Leandro Trossard (51.08)
The Vampire of Genk lived up to his other moniker of the Belgian Paul Brooker by going missing in the winter months. His fifth place finish in the WAB Power Rankings is largely because of his form in the autumn and the spring. Five goals was a decent return and the sight of him putting Premier League Player of the Season Ruben Dias on his arse not once, not twice, but three times in the 3-2 win over Manchester City will live long in the memory.
4) Pascal Gross (51.78)
For Pascal Gross to finish fourth in the WAB Power Rankings 2020-21 is some achievement given he had only started seven Premier League games before the middle of January. Brighton had just two wins to their name when Potter decided that he might as well give the German a chance; 19 games later and that number had increased to nine. Gross contributed three goals, 10 assists and ended the campaign wearing Der Kapitan’s armband when Dunk was suspended.
3) Lewis Dunk (56.60)
Kicking off the top three is the man who has gone from Withdean to Wembley with the Albion. Dunk’s excellence in the second half of the season (bar that silly red card at Wolves) was unparalleled amongst his team mates. It also makes people forget that he was actually a bit below par in the first half of the campaign, perhaps smarting from the fact that nobody came in for him in a summer which probably represented his last chance to secure a big-money move. The big six’s loss is our gain… and the less said about Gareth Southgate and England constantly overlooking Dunk, the better.
2) Ben White (59.35)
One man who has not been overlooked by England is White, who capped a superb debut season in the Premier League by forcing his way into the Three Lions’ Euro 2020 (in 2021) squad. Whether he played in a back three, a back four, at right back, at right wing back or in the middle of the park, he thrived with his value now north of £50 million. White may have been a controversial winner of the club’s Official Player of the Season award, but based on our Brighton player ratings from 2020-21, then there was only one man better than him….
1) Yves Bissouma (61.92)
It should come as a shock to absolutely nobody to see Bissouma topping the WAB Brighton Power Rankings for 2020-21. The Malian has always been talented but lacked consistency. He has found that in spades this season, becoming the most in-demand defensive midfielder in Europe with Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain all being linked. The only thing missing from his game is goals… if he starts popping up in the box to score, then Bissouma will be a genuine word class player. And that is why nobody can argue with him hitting top spot.
