Signings from Barcelona and facing Ajax – this is a season like no other

Let me be the 23,795th Albion fan to say this: If you had told me in the mid 1970s when Brighton were in the old Division Two or Three – or indeed 12 years ago when we faced Doncaster Rovers in our first game at the Amex – that in 2023 we would be signing players from Liverpool and Barcelona and lining up against Marseille and Ajax in Europe, I would have questioned the substances you had been ingesting or the strength of the blow to your head.

Now the Europa League draw is done, the transfer window is shut, and the Premier League campaign is underway in earnest. It is going to be a season like no other we have ever experienced.

Somewhere in the region of 55 games lie ahead of us. 34 more in the Premier League, at least eight in the Europa League, possibly another half dozen in the FA Cup and up to seven more in the Carabao Cup if we go all the way.

For a significant number of players in our squad, that of course will not be it. They have another half a dozen international games where they potentially might feature before we even hit 2024.

Lewis Dunk, Kaoru Mitoma, Pascal Gross, Evan Ferguson and others could all play for their respective nations over the next fortnight.

All of this can take its toll. There have been an unprecedented number of injuries across the Premier League already, just three games into the season.

Tyrone Mings, Philippe Coutinho, Carney Chukwuemeka, Jurrien Timber and our very own Julio Enciso have all suffered significant knee injuries putting them out of action for months.

Some have speculated the pre-season tournament in the US played a role in this, others that the shorter summer break because of last year’s World Cup is a factor. Perhaps it is just a sign that the level of intensity has increased again.

We have lost key players to injury in the recent past. Jose Izquierdo suffered a knee injury on international duty which ultimately ended his career.

Tariq Lamptey has been ruled out for significant periods. Jakub Moder has not been seen for over a year. The problem suffered by Enciso has come just when the teenager looked to be realising his rich potential.

Ansu Fatti suffered a similar meniscus tear three years ago, leading to four operations and a secondary injury. Injuries are, and always have been, a risk of the game.

Many promising careers have been cut short or prevented from even starting by a bad break or ACL damage. It is one of the reasons high salaries are the norm at elite level; football is a short career which can be made even briefer if ended in a second by a bad injury.

Time will tell as to whether there is now enough depth to this Brighton squad to compete across four competitions.

Can it cope with with two games a week, absorbing both short and long term injuries as well as the increased number of suspensions likely as a result of this season’s rule changes on timewasting and dissent?

Roberto De Zerbi has said he is happy with the players he has. But based on his comments in recent weeks, he clearly wanted more cover and options to arrive before the window slammed shut, particularly after Enciso’s devastating injury.

Brighton 1-3 West Ham for many showed our vulnerability in defence, with the need for cover at left back being highlighted by fans and pundits alike.

The game plan for absorbing our press and scoring on the break has been analysed and explored across dozens of sites and shows in the past week.

We will of course have Adrian Mazilu joining our options on the wing in January, when another transfer window or the potential recall of loan signings could plug any gaps that emerge.

Several of our highly talented Under 23s have been lent to Championship and League One sides for game time and experience, following the paths taken by players like Ben White and Robert Sanchez.

We are yet to see the best of Joao Pedro or Simon Adingra, nor anything of course of the newest acquisitions Carlos Baleba or Fatti.

In Mitoma, Estupinan, Ferguson, Solly March and others, we have a brilliant and proven side who on their best days can take on anyone. In De Zerbi, a coach many are saying will have a career as stellar as Pep Guardiola or Jose Mourinho.

If we were to emerge as qualifiers from a group with Ajax, Marseille and Athens, then we would certainly be amongst the favourites to win the Europa League in Dublin next May depending on who drops into the competition from the Champions League.

We have already had the highs of topping the Premier League and signing one of the most promising players in Europe on loan, and the lows of a difficult home defeat and the loss of one of our star players to injury.

De Zerbi says he will not change the way the team plays and that he will rotate players across games and tournaments to rest them and reduce the risk of injury.

The prelude to the season is over. We know who we are up against, and the players we have in the squad to challenge the best at home and in Europe.

It is going to be an absolute rollercoaster, so hold on tight and enjoy the ride.

Warren Morgan @WarrenBHAFC