The WAB Brighton Power Rankings: April 2021
The list of clubs being linked with a summer move for Yves Bissouma is currently longer than the bible. This will not come as a surprise to anybody who watched Brighton in April 2021 as the Malian midfielder was the Albion’s best player over the course of the penultimate month of the season.
That is reflected in both the WAB Power Rankings and in the public vote for our April 2021 Player of the Month, which Bissouma won by a handsome margin – if you are reading Tony Bloom, feel free to use both of these accolades as justification for sticking a few more million on the asking price.
Whilst Bissouma shone on an individual level, team-wise it was a bit of a disappointing April for the Albion. Zero wins from four matches and only one goal scored meant that the threat of relegation continued to hang over the club when Premier League safety could have been all-but assured with a few positive results.
The fixture list was not an easy one, granted. Brighton did well to come out of Manchester United and Chelsea away with a point whilst Everton had an excellent away record prior to rocking up at the Amex for a 0-0 draw.
Any good work done in those three matches was ruined by April’s final outing, a 1-0 defeat against rock bottom, already relegated Sheffield United.
So bad was the showing at Bramall Lane that Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Jose Izquierdo both rated in the top three despite only having been introduced from the bench in the second half.
Bissouma of course was the man to split the substitutes on his way to the top of the WAB Brighton Player Power Rankings, with the following list revealing who were the best and who were the worst Albion performers in April 2021.
1) Yves Bissouma (73.96 points)
The best midfielder on the pitch in both the 2-1 defeat at Manchester United and the 0-0 draw with Chelsea; no mean feat given the talent those two clubs possess. His greatest showing though came against Everton when he ran the show. Rarely do you see world class players in a Brighton shirt, so make the most of him whilst you can.
2) Lewis Dunk (71.90)
With clean sheets against attacks of the quality of Chelsea and Everton, it is little surprise to see the Brighton captain ranking so highly. He has been in sparkling form since the turn of the year and deserves to go to the Euro 2020 (in 2021) with England. Gareth Southgate sadly will have other ideas…
3) Adam Lallana (68.14)
Third place is an impressive feat given the playmaker was rested for the trip to Stamford Bridge. It was his introduction from the bench which suddenly made Brighton an attacking threat and they might have even shocked Chelsea with a little more composure in front of goal. Had that happened, it would have been down to him.
4) Joel Veltman (65.75)
Mr Dependable was his normal solid self over the course of an April in which he filled three different positions, being used as a right wing back at Chelsea, on the left side of the back three against United and Everton and as the right sided centre back when Ben White was suspended for the 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United.
5) Robert Sanchez (63.81)
Added too more shutouts to his ever growing collection, although it is hard to recall him having to do much at all over the course of April. That just goes to show how superb the defence in front of him have been.
6) Jakub Moder (62.78)
Is he a left wing back? Almost certainly not. To score enough to secure sixth place in the rankings despite being used in an unfamilair position is a pretty good achievement for a player who is only a few months into his Premier League career. The future looks bright for Jakub Moder.
7) Danny Welbeck (62.36)
Dat Guy was responsible for Brighton’s only goal in April 2021, scoring against his former club Manchester United. He should have added a couple more to his monthly tall, only to be pulled back by Harry Maguire when all that was needed was a touch on Neal Maupay’s low cross and then rattling the post with a curler from outside the box at Chelsea.
8) Pascal Gross (60.19)
Judging by his ratings in April, the Pascal Gross at right wing back experiment needs to come to an end. This was his worst month of scores for some time with his highest ranking come in the draw at Stamford Bridge – the one game where he started in his more natural central midfield berth.
9) Leandro Trossard (57.50)
The only thing consistent about Leandro Trossard is his inconsistency. Having been nominated for the Premier League Player of the Month Award in March 2021, the Belgian struggled to make much impact in April.
10) Neal Maupay (55.68)
Had a good evening at Manchester United, including claiming an assist for Welbeck’s goal. His performances tailed off badly after that however, culminating in several astonishing misses at Sheffield United.
11) Ben White (54.65)
The Albion’s best player at Chelsea where he even sacrificed himself by picking up a late red card to deny the Blues a last minute run at goal, he subsequently missed the trip to Bramall Lane through suspension which explains why he is so far down the April 2021 WAB Brighton Power Rankings. Defeat against a woeful Blades outfit tells you how much he was missed.
12) Adam Webster (27.29)
Returned after a long injury layoff against Chelsea and kept his place for the Sheffield United shambles. Rusty is probably the best word to describe him, hardly a surprise after the best part of two months on the shelf.
13) Dan Burn (16.82)
Just one start for the 6’7 left wing back when he came into the side at Stamford Bridge. Did not put a foot wrong and you could argue that Graham Potter’s decision not to use Burn’s height and physicality against Sheffield United was a poor one.
14) Alexis Mac Allister (16.42)
Those heady days of him being voted WAB Player of the Month for January 2021 seem a long time ago now. Given a start against Chelsea but he seems to be one those players who needs a run of games to get up to speed, something which there seems little prospect of at the moment.
15) Alireza Jahanbakhsh (16.25)
Just the one substitutes appearance for Prince Ali in April 2021 but what a cameo it was as he was rated the best Brighton player at Sheffield United.
16) Jose Izquierdo (14.64)
Just being able to include his name in the WAB Power Rankings is a joy after two years of injury hell. Did enough against Sheffield United to suggest he could still be the force of old, leaving Potter with an interesting decision to make given Izquierdo is out of contract this summer.
17) Aaron Connolly (8.93)
Came off the bench at Bramall Lane. Scored 3.57. If ever a player looked like they could benefit from a loan spell in the Championship, it is him.
The WAB Power Rankings are formulated through our matchday player scores. To play your part, make sure to follow us on Twitter and leave your post game player ratings in the relevant thread.
