WAB Brighton Power Rankings January 2023
Here we are over a week into February and the only Brighton player anyone seems to have written anything about on WAB so far this month is Kaoru Mitoma.
He consistently tops the Player Ratings. He has been voted Player of the Month in January, December and November. And now we find ourselves with more Mitoma content as he sits top of the January Power Rankings with a score of 85.86. The sort of number normally unheard of.
Not that anybody is complaining about Mitoma Mania. Albion fans have been treated to seeing some very good players in the stripes these past few seasons, but even compared to the likes of Ben White, Yves Bissouma and Moises Caicedo, Mitoma feels like something different.
An unbeaten January and safe progress into the fifth round of the FA Cup means that Brighton supporters are beginning to dream of Europe. If the Seagulls do get there, Mitoma will have played a massive part in it.
It is not all about one man, however. Here are how all 22 players used by Roberto De Zerbi in the opening month of 2023 rated in the latest set of WAB Power Rankings.
1) Kaoru Mitoma – 85.86
No right back who faced Mitoma in January could live with his unique blend of pace, directness, balance and skill. He scored three goals of the highest quality; two cutting in from the left hand side and bending efforts from the edge of the box into the top right corner. The other was a stunning piece of skill to eliminate holders Liverpool from the FA Cup, slicing across the ball to spin it over the head of Joe Gomez before firing a thumping volley past Alisson.
2) Evan Ferguson – 80.69
Before the start of January, Ferguson was yet to be handed his full Premier League debut. Now he sits second in the Power Rankings, only kept off top spot by magnificent Mitoma. Became the youngest player to score and assist in the same top flight game since Michael Owen 25 years earlier when starring in the 4-1 win at Everton. Followed that up with a towering 88th minute header to rescue a precious point from Leicester City.
3) Pervis Estupinan – 80.52
How many left backs have assisted two goals in a single Premier League match this season? Not many would be a reasonable guess. Estupinan was excellent throughout January but his best 90 was undoubtedly in the 2-2 draw against Leicester when he set up both Mitoma and Ferguson.
4) Solly March – 79.66
Solly March was nominated for the both the Premier League Player of the Month and PFA Player of the Month awards – and yet he was only the fourth best Seagull in January according to the Power Rankings. He did though single-handedly blow Liverpool away in the league game at the Amex, scoring twice and registering the second highest Player Rating of the season so far.
5) Alexis Mac Allister – 78.79
Any worries that Mac Allister might suffer from a World Cup hangover when returning to the less glamorous day job of fixtures like Middlesbrough away were quickly dismissed when he scored twice on his return at the Riverside Stadium. His exploits in Qatar have made him an even more popular figure than before and his importance to the team has never been clearer.
6) Pascal Gross – 78.10
Right back. Holding midfield. Number 10. It does not matter where Gross is asked to play, he always delivers. Goals against Everton and Middlesbrough moved him onto seven for the season, already matching his total for the entire 2017-18 campaign which was the most prolific of his Albion career.
7) Lewis Dunk – 67.76
Dunk was partnered with a multitude of teammates at centre back through January with Levi Colwill, Adam Webster, Jan Paul van Hecke and Joel Veltman all having a go at one stage or another. He played on the left and the right. And despite all the chopping and changing, he remained completely unflappable. Captain. Leader. Legend.
8) Moises Caicedo – 67.59
Would have been much higher up the Power Rankings had he not missed the Liverpool FA Cup game after being given time off until the January transfer window shut. Played well in the four games he was involved in, but poor advice from his new agents culminating in that ill-advised Instagram statement overshadowed that.
9) Joel Veltman – 62.93
De Zerbi is learning to cherish the versatility and professionalism Veltman brings to the cause. Started games at both right back and centre back whilst also offering the option to change shape and move players around.
10) Adam Lallana – 60.00
Injury at Leicester brought his January to a premature conclusion but before that he was again central to everything good Brighton did. Added another goal at Middlesbrough and managed to last more than seven minutes against former club Liverpool; bad news for the Redmen as they were unable to get the ball off him.
11) Danny Welbeck – 57.41
Brighton scored many spectacular goals in January, so it says a lot that his in the 3-0 win over Liverpool was the best of the lot. Paul Gascoigne. England v Scotland. Euro 96. Say no more.
12) Levi Colwill – 52.76
How good Colwill is was best summed up by Jan Paul van Hecke – two years his senior – struggling when coming into the side for a Premier League debut at Leicester. The defensive class and ability on the ball Colwill brings will be missed during his injury layoff.
13) Tariq Lamptey – 49.83
Linked with a January transfer window move away having started only one league game in the first half of the season. He made the most of two opportunities in the FA Cup, playing very well against both Middlesbrough and Liverpool.
14) Robert Sanchez – 48.79
A low score for Sanchez on account of him playing in only three of January’s five matches. Could be reasonably pleased to record a clean sheet from the Liverpool game, making two important saves from the Redmen’s only two attacks of the afternoon.
15) Jason Steele – 24.48
The Albion’s FA Cup goalkeeper might have done better when ex-Brighton striker Chuba Akpom scored for Boro. Other than that, it was two solid performances.
16) Julio Enciso – 21.55
A couple of lively cameos as De Zerbi continues to ease him into English football slowly. It will be interesting to see if his game time is impacted by the January arrival of Facundo Buonanotte, another teenage number 10 from South America.
17) Jan Paul van Hecke – 20.69
Superb against Middlesbrough which convinced De Zerbi to opt for him over Webster with Colwill ruled out at Leicester. His struggles at the King Power underlined the significant gap between the Championship and the Premier League.
18) Adam Webster – 20.69
Two FA Cup appearances as he works his way back from injury. Shored up the Albion defence from the bench in the second half against Boro and was relatively untroubled when Liverpool came to the Amex.
19) Jeremy Sarmiento – 13.62
Handed a rare start against Everton in the number 10 role with Lallana rested. He can consider himself a little unlucky not to have been more involved after that having been a lively presence at Goodison Park, including when setting up Ferguson for the second Albion goal.
20) Billy Gilmour – 12.93
The return of Mac Allister pushed him back down the pecking order and when Caicedo was put on gardening leave, De Zerbi opted to use Gross in midfield instead. A weird one as he looks decent enough when given an opportunity.
21) Andrew Moran – 12.24
Neat and tidy on a surprise Premier League debut from the bench at Everton. His emergence combined with the scoring form of Ferguson means Brighton are doing their bit for Irish football.
22) Deniz Undav – 9.66
A well taken goal in the FA Cup against Middlesbrough. You could see how popular Undav is with his teammates as they all surged forward to celebrate with him after some personal issues in recent weeks.
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.
