Why Brighton Fans Are Right To Buzz: The Impact of Pascal Gross' Premier League Return

Der Kaiser Has Returned And Brighton Fans Couldn't Be Happier

To kick off the new year with a bang Brighton fans were hit with a massive dopamine rush thanks to a Fabrizio Romano bomba. It was announced that club legend Pascal Gross would be returning back to the South Coast to rejoin the Seagulls following his short stint over at Dortmund.

Myself and every other Brighton fan were completely taken aback by the news, there’d always been talk online amongst fans about the thought of Pascal returning especially with his lack of game time over at Dortmund this season but no one ever really believed it and thought it wouldn’t come true, how wrong we were.

The Greatest Bargain In Premier League History?

Well perhaps he isn’t the biggest bargain, I think that title goes to Mahrez or Seamus Coleman but Gross is defiantly up there. Costing around £3 million in 2017 he was Brighton’s first signing following their promotion to the Premier League and since day one he has been one of the greatest servants to the club in the Premier League era.

Making an incredible 261 appearances for the club, he never played less than 27 games in a season which shows just how reliable he was. His best years were under Roberto De Zerbi who really got the best out of the German.

In the 2022/23 season he statistically had his best year with 10 goals and 10 assists across 44 games and then in the following season he scored five times and assisted 13 times in 47 games. As well as these stats he was easily one of the best player across the entire league at creating chances. During the 22/23 season he created the fourth most amount of chances in the league with 80, only De Bruyne, Trippier and Bruno Fernandes had more. In the 23/24 season he did even better, this time creating 103 chances with Bruno being the only player ahead of him.

508 - Between the 2017-18 and 2023-24 Premier League campaigns, only Kevin De Bruyne (602) created more chances than Pascal Groß (508). Inventive. pic.twitter.com/whGFwL1hWC

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 1, 2024

Another excellent trait to his game is his versatility. I don’t think I’ve watched a single player who has been put in as many positions as Pascal did and perform in them time after time. During his time at Brighton here are the positions he’s played:

• Central Midfielder for 89 games
• Attacking Midfielder for 64 games
• Defensive Midfielder for 32 games
• Right Midfielder for 27 games
• Second Striker for 22 games
• Right back for 13 games
• Left back for 4 games
• Right Winger for 2 games
• Left Midfielder for 1 game

Just absolutely ridiculous stuff.

So, What Does This Mean For Brighton?

Since his departure a season ago Brighton fans knew that it would be impossible to replace that impact he had at the club, trying to bring in someone who could create 100+ chances in a season was never going to happen. Fans were proved right as in the following season after he left Brighton’s biggest chance creator was Mitoma who could only muster a measly 37 when compared to Gross’ 103 from the season before.

So with Gross returning I hope and expect Brighton to create a lot more chances as of late we have hit a really bad run of form and have struggled to score and create much, looking at Brighton’s chances created this season Minteh has the most with 27 and then it dwindles.

Another thing needed at the moment in this Brighton team is leadership plus someone who knows the club inside and out, having spent eight years at the club Pascal will be able to slot straight into the squad, yes there are new faces but there are a lot more older ones in which he already knew, his leadership will be crucial for the club having not won in six games, a figure like Pascal will be crucial to help steady a rocking ship.

Brighton fans will be hoping to see the same Pascal Gross as the one that left a year and a half ago but despite it being just that short time period I don’t think he’ll be the same player, yes the IQ will be there and the same smart footballer wouldn’t have gone away but his body won’t be the same and physically he’ll probably be worse off.

As well as his body physically he may be used to the slower pace of the Bundesliga and coming back to the Premier League might be a bit of a shock, I hope I’m wrong because if we can get 2022-2024 Pascal Gross back then I expect performances on the pitch to drastically improve but I guess time will tell.

But overall I couldn’t be happier, one of my favourite Brighton players ever has returned and It’s certainly given everyone involved in the club much needed positive news.