Brighton & Hove Albion 2026/27 Preview

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Hooligan Soccer

·20 August 2026

Brighton & Hove Albion 2026/27 Preview

Brighton & Hove Albion enter a new season with the clear objective of remaining one of the competitive clubs in the Premier League and also making an impact in Europe.

During the 2026/27 campaign, Brighton will participate in the UEFA Conference League, starting in the playoff round. In fact, this Thursday, Aug. 20, they will face Norway’s Tromsø in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League playoff for a place in the league phase.

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Below, we will analyze Fabian Hürzeler’s team, the most notable offseason moves, the probable key performers for the upcoming campaign, and more.

Major off-season moves

It has been a busy summer for Brighton so far in terms of departures and arrivals, although it is not over yet and there are likely to be more moves before the current transfer window closes.

Their most expensive signing was 19-year-old center-back Luka Vuskovic from Tottenham for $63 million. They also signed the young and talented 19-year-old right winger Zadok Yohanna from Allsvenskan’s AIK for $32.5 million.

Brighton completed the signing of center-back Pascal Struijk from Leeds United for $27 million. Also, as has become customary in recent years, they went shopping in the Greek Super League, again at Olympiacos, and signed 26-year-old Portuguese right-back Costinha for $14.8 million.

Continuing with the defense, which was clearly one of the areas that was reinforced the most, they signed 27-year-old Venezia center-back Michael Svoboda for $5.8 million.

They also completed the permanent signing of 21-year-old Portuguese right winger Rodrigo Rego from Benfica. As the cherry on top, at least for now, they just signed 25-year-old Canadian forward Promise David on loan from Belgian Jupiler Pro League side Union SG.

That said, there have also been important departures, including 26-year-old center-back Jan Paul van Hecke, who was transferred to Tottenham for $70 million. Twenty-five-year-old goalkeeper Carl Rushworth was also transferred, in this case to newly promoted Coventry City, for $30 million.

Diego Coppola also left the club permanently. Ligue 1’s Paris FC bought the 22-year-old center-back for $20.4 million.

Danny Welbeck was perhaps a rather surprising move, not so much because he left Brighton, but because he is joining Xavi Alonso’s Chelsea at 35 years old for $6.8 million.

Jeremy Sarmiento, a 24-year-old left winger, also left for Championship side Middlesbrough for $4.3 million. Meanwhile, Joel Veltman left as a free agent for West Ham.

Key performers for 2026/27

Newly signed Vuskovic will be required to perform from the very beginning. With Van Hecke’s departure, it is clear that Vuskovic arrives to replace him and would have to perform from the very beginning.

Hürzeler will undoubtedly allow him to start initially because he arrives with a good reputation and very high expectations.

Another player who could very likely surprise Brighton fans is Costinha. The 26-year-old Portuguese player has the qualities to be a very entertaining fullback to watch because of his offensive ability. This isn’t reflected in goals, but in his involvement in building attacks, depending on the role he plays.

That said, competition at this position is fierce, as 26-year-old Dutchman Mats Wieffer has done quite well in the preseason and, for now, appears to be one of the coach’s preferred options.

This is also a season in which all of Charalampos Koustoulas’ talent could emerge. The 19-year-old attacker joined Brighton in the summer of 2025 from Olympiacos and currently maintains his status as a young prospect.

Well, that promise could be fulfilled during the 2026-27 season. Koustoulas, who is still missed at Olympiacos, has the qualities to play both as a center forward and as an attacking midfielder behind that striker.

The young Greek could become the solution the club needs at striker, although for now the coach does not appear to have that plan.

As we know, seasons are long and anything can happen, and our bet here is that Koustoulas will give us plenty to talk about.

Likely outcome for 2026/27

The club’s expectations for this season should be high. The reality is that they have an opportunity to make an impact in some cup competitions. While dreaming of the Premier League is basically just that, a dream, staying in the upper half of the table is not, and it will probably be the objective for the season.

This year they return to Europe and, as the English representatives in the UEFA Conference League, they become the clear favorites to win the title, and that is how they should interpret it.

As for domestic cups, they will participate in both the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup. In the former, as we know, they have been semifinalists twice in the last eight seasons, and this year could be another opportunity to make another deep run.

As for the Carabao Cup, they have the advantage of not entering the competition until the third round, thanks to having secured a place in UEFA competitions.

So, Brighton can and should aspire to win the Conference League, remain an upper-half team in the Premier League and, why not, aim to win one of the domestic cups in which they participate.