Brighton January 2026 player ratings: Kadioglu king ahead of Van Hecke | OneFootball

According to WeAreBrighton.com, Brighton’s defence dominated January 2026’s player ratings, with Ferdi Kadioglu top ahead of Jan Paul van Hecke, Carlos Baleba and Bart Verbruggen. Kadioglu completed the double after being voted WAB January 2026 Player of the Month.

The Albion won two of six matches. January began with a 2-0 home win over Burnley, a 1-1 draw at Manchester City and an FA Cup win at Manchester United. Kostoulas rescued a point against Bournemouth with a bicycle kick, before a 91st minute loss at Fulham and a 97th minute equaliser in a 1-1 home draw with Everton.

Kadioglu excelled at full back and on the wing, with goal-line headers against Burnley and City pivotal, a strong Player of the Season contender. Van Hecke, into the final 18 months of his deal, impressed again, relishing his duel with Erling Haaland and stepping into midfield to pick passes.

Carlos Baleba showed authority on his return from AFCON, and his withdrawal with 10 minutes left at Fulham contributed to Brighton surrendering a point. Verbruggen made fine stops against Burnley and City but dipped late in the month, and should have done better with Harry Wilson’s free kick. Kostoulas impressed from the bench, including a clever dummy before Pascal Gross scored against Everton.

Lewis Dunk was solid at the Etihad and Kaoru Mitoma started all five league games. Yasin Ayari finished 11th despite two goals, two assists and a Premier League Player of the Month nomination.

Source: WeAreBrighton.com