Lewis Dunk signs new Brighton contract to 2026
Brighton captain Lewis Dunk has signed a new contract keeping him at the Amex until at least the summer of 2026.
Should Dunk see out the deal – and surely the chances of him being bought by one of European Super League Elite Six are now gone – it will take him to 16 years of service with the Albion.
With 416 matches under his belt, Dunk is already in the top 10 all-time Brighton appearance makers. If he remains fit throughout the three seasons his contract runs for, he could become the second ever player to pass 500 games for the Albion.
Tug Wilson is the only man to have gone beyond that number before, playing 566 times in total. For nearly 100 years, Wilson’s record has looked unbeatable. If any player deserves to exceed it, it is Dunk.
And why not? Like a fine wine, Dunk seems to be getting better with age. 2022-23 proved to be one of his best seasons yet, good enough that even Gareth Southgate could not ignore the Albion skipper anymore.
A sixth placed finish, the first ever man to captain Brighton into Europe and an England recall four-and-a-half years after his one and only international cap made for an excellent end to an excellent campaign for Dunk.
Like Chris Hughton and Graham Potter before him, Roberto De Zerbi instantly realised the importance of Dunk to the Albion.
They say you cannot teach an old dog new tricks but despite being in his 30s, Dunk easily grasped the unique demands of DeZerbiBall.
Even through the hectic final two months of the season in which the Albion played 15 times in eight weeks, De Zerbi did not rest Dunk until European football was mathematically secured.
Dunk later revealed this meant he had been playing through injury, adrenaline and a desire to take the Albion into the top seven pushing him through the pain barrier.
Unfortunately, that also meant his withdrawal from the England squad having waited so long for another chance. Hopefully, Southgate opts to take a look again for the September internationals with Ukraine and Scotland. He would be mad not too.
For Dunk to reach this point in his career where he is considered one of the best Brighton players of all time has not been straightforward.
Whilst people rightly laud his footballing ability, the way he reads the game, his calmness on the ball and his quiet and understated leadership, it is his resilience which is most impressive.
He has had to overcome a well-publicised court case which our friends in Croydon still obsess about and long periods of no first team football.
Over the course of the 1012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, Dunk played just 20 times. He lasted only three games on loan in League One with Bristol City.
Despite a nightmare two-and-a-half years that would have have had a detrimental impact on other young players, Dunk kept going.
His determination was rewarded when Sami Hyypia made him a regular for the 2014-15 season; one of the only good things to happen in Hyppia’s Reign of Terror.
Dunk was a rare bright spot as Brighton avoided relegation to the Championship by the skin of their teeth at the end of the 2014-15 season. He even managed to finish as top scorer with seven goals in all competitions.
Those performances and scoring feats attracted the interest of fellow Championship side Fulham. The Cottagers launched a series of bids through the summer of 2015, the highest of which was for £5 million.
In response to Tony Bloom refusing to sell, Dunk handed in a transfer request and refused to play in a League Cup tie at Southend United. That earned him a fine of two weeks wages from Hughton.
To say Dunk’s attempts to force through a move backfired slightly would be an understatement. He lost his place in the team to £2.5 million signing Uwe Hunemeier and sat on the bench for eight of the first 10 league games as Brighton began what would end up being a club-record unbeaten start to a season of 21 matches.
Dunk again had to show resilience to earn back his place in the starting XI and more importantly, the trust of Hughton. An injury to Hunemeier in October gave Dunk his opportunity.
He has been an immovable object ever since, the first name on the team sheet and the only choice to take over the club captaincy when Bruno retired in 2019.
This new Brighton contract for Lewis Dunk means he will continue in that role for at least another three years. As De Zerbi himself said on the official Albion website when the news was revealed: “Long live the captain!”
