The WAB Brighton Power Rankings: January 2022
Dan Burn certainly knew how to bow out in style. After being voted as WAB Player of the Month for January 2022 following his £13 million move to Newcastle United, he completes the double by topping the Power Rankings as the best Brighton player over the course of the five matches prior to his departure for Tyneside.
These turned out to be some of the tightest Power Rankings since we started producing them last season. Burn was only 1.81 points ahead of December’s best player Marc Cucurella with Alexis Mac Allister just 1.33 further points behind in third.
That so little could separate the top seven from Burn down to Joel Veltman is a indicative of an excellent January for the Albion.
A first ever win at Everton was followed by safe passage in the FA Cup against West Brom. Draws against Crystal Palace, Chelsea and Everton followed as Brighton went through a month unbeaten for the first time since September.
Here are the full WAB Power Rankings, rating all 21 players to have pulled on an Albion shirt throughout January.
1) Dan Burn – 79.81
What a month for big Dan Burn. Scored at Everton, marked both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Romelu Lukaku out of games, voted WAB Brighton Player of the Month for January 2022, tops the Power Rankings as the best Albion player and then secures a dream transfer to his boyhood club Newcastle United. Just don’t visit any Saudi consulates, Dan…
2) Marc Cucurella – 78.00
His best performance came in the 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, where he covered every blade of grass – most notably when popping up on the right wing to play in Leandro Trossard inside the first 15 minutes. Seems to thrive rampaging forward when he knows he has the security of Burn playing as a left sided centre back behind him, so it will be interesting to see if he remains as effective following the big man’s sale.
3) Alexis Mac Allister – 76.67
This felt like a real breakthrough month for Mac Allister, even if we have said that a couple of times before. He was the best player on the pitch when scoring twice in Everton 2-3 Brighton to kick off January and followed that up with an assist against Chelsea, a result of some excellent set piece taking.
4) Neal Maupay – 74.38
Oh, Neal! The striker continues to impress, scoring the winner in the FA Cup game at West Brom. Showed his worth outside the box too with that delicious right wing cross straight onto the head of Danny Welbeck for the equaliser as the Albion drew 1-1 with Leicester.
5) Jakub Moder – 73.80
A first Premier League goal continues to elude him. That does not stop him thriving in knockout competitions; he was the man who helped Brighton progress in the FA Cup with a goal and an assist after coming off the bench.
6) Leandro Trossard – 71.90
It says much about how good Leandro Trossard is that January felt like a quiet month for the Belgian forward and yet he still managed to score a 71.90. Lots of scheming against Everton, Palace and from the bench against Chelsea. Tying him down to a new contract with only 18 months of his current deal remaining should be top of the Albion’s priority list over the remainder of the season.
7) Joel Veltman – 70.90
His versatility was put to good use in the absences of Lewis Dunk and Shane Duffy and as Brighton sought to carefully manage the game time of Tariq Lamptey. A classy display against Chelsea as a right sided centre back – a position he has barely played so far in his Albion career – was the highlight.
8) Tariq Lamptey – 61.88
Brighton have to be cautious with Lamptey at a time when most Premier League opponents seem to have decided the best way to stop him is by kicking him in the air. His value as a super-sub could be seen when he came on in the second half at the King Power Stadium and Brighton went from being absolutely woeful to taking a deserved point from a 1-1 draw with Leicester. A tactical masterclass from Bjorn Hamberg managing in the absence of the Covid-hit Graham Potter.
9) Adam Webster – 61.01
He put the best WAB Player rating of the season so far on the board with a magnificent display as Brighton drew 1-1 with Chelsea in one of the highlights of January. Impervious at the back, dangerous coming forward with the ball at his feet and a bullet header from a Mac Allister corner to provide the Albion equaliser. It was no surprise to hear him being linked with an England call up after that.
10) Robert Sanchez – 58.76
Kept the Albion in the game during that disappointing opening hour at Leicester with some important saves. There were also a couple of vital stops against Everton but he was virtually unemployed in the Chelsea and Palace games thanks to the fine team performance taking place in front of him.
11) Danny Welbeck – 57.93
Along with Lamptey, he was the catalyst for the turnaround away at Leicester – culminating in that magnificent header with 10 minutes remaining to earn Brighton a point. Caused Chelsea a few problems too when deployed as a lone striker against the European Champions.
12) Solly March – 56.68
His only start came in the West Brom FA Cup game thanks to the outstanding form of Cucurella. Oddly, that afternoon at the Hawthorns was Solly March’s lowest player rating of January, meaning that his best work for Brighton came from the bench.
13) Pascal Gross – 52.42
Did you ever think you would see an Albion penalty as bad as Ryan Harley at Millwall in October 2011? Pascal Gross’ spot kick shocker when Palace came to the Amex overshadowed an otherwise decent January, including a fine performance four days later against Chelsea. That is a measure of his professionalism, not letting such a low moment impact on his confidence or future output.
14) Steve Alzate – 44.38
Inconsistency has been Steve Alzate’s biggest problem in his Brighton career so far. It was therefore pleasing to see him string two good games together as a holding midfielder in the absence of Yves Bissouma, and against opponents of the quality of Chelsea and Leicester. His reward was a recall to the Colombian national side.
15) Shane Duffy – 27.67
Just two appearances for Shane Duffy in January, one as a substitute at Everton and the other a start in the FA Cup at West Brom. Did not really impress in either, his ridiculous early season form seeming to have given way following a spate of minor injuries, illness and suspension.
16) Adam Lallana – 27.32
How is it that a player who used to score regularly for Southampton, Liverpool and even England cannot hit a cow’s arse with the proverbial banjo since moving to Brighton? Decent enough against Palace prior to injury striking but his return to Merseyside should have resulted in at at least one goal against Everton.
17) Enock Mwepu – 26.67
A player whose body appears to be struggling to adapt to the demands of English football. The Computer was a whirl of clever flicks and nice tricks at Everton, including in the build up to Mac Allister’s second. Limped off injured at West Brom and has not been seen since.
18) Evan Ferguson – 15.00
Promising cameo from the bench against West Brom for 17-year-old Evan Ferguson. Involved in one of the goals, hit the bar and then saw an effort ruled out correctly for offside. He is young and needs patience but clearly there is a lot of talent there for the Albion to work with.
19) Yves Bissouma – 14.33
Did his usual important job at Everton before spending the rest of the month at AFCON with Mali following the end of his international exile. Brighton turned down a £35 million bid for him from Aston Villa.
20) Odel Offiah – 13.00
Not sure if you have heard, but Odel Offiah is the nephew of rugby league great Martin Offiah. Handed a surprise debut at right wing back in the FA Cup. After a bit of a nervous start, he grew into the tie to mark himself out as another young Albion player worth keeping an eye on.
21) Kjell Scherpen – 13.00
The giant Dutch goalkeeper made his Brighton bow at West Brom. The Baggies only had one shot on target which they scored from, so there wasn’t really an opportunity to judge whether the £5 million paid to Ajax for his services in the summer was money well spent. Has since moved on loan to Belgian side Oostende for the remainder of the 2021-22 campaign.
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.
