After a busy summer window with £200 million worth of players coming through the door, Brighton and Hove Albion seriously strengthened the squad, but in particular their forward options.
A large chunk of their budget was spent on three new attacking acquisitions Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh and Brajan Gruda.
These five signings come in to provide depth and competition for the Seagulls' already strong attack, which includes Danny Welbeck, João Pedro, Evan Ferguson, Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Julio Enciso, and Solly March.
Brighton scored 72 goals during the 2022/23 Premier League season, compared to only 55 during the last campaign. While that is still a fairly good tally, there was clearly a need for some extra firepower heading into this season.
This need only increased after the injuries picked up by many key players last season.
But with two or even three options in each position across the front line, who is the first choice on the left wing, right wing, in attacking midfield and as a striker?
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Left Wingers
Within the Brighton squad, there are two standout options to play on the left, with both deserving a starting spot.
- 1. Kaoru Mitoma
The Japanese winger has started all five games this season, so it seems extremely likely that he is Fabian Hürzeler's first choice.
That should come as no surprise as Mitoma can provide game-changing and match-winning moments with his pace and dribbling IQ.
Mitoma has not shown his absolute best yet this season and there is still a lot to come, but that is somewhat expected after the long-term injury he picked up last season. Despite this, he is still a key man in the team and it will be difficult to take his spot.
The African Cup of Nations winner has started the season in incredible form, so it is harsh to have him as a second choice.
However, what he can offer from the bench in the second half and late in the game is arguably something that nobody else in the squad has.
With his fantastic dribbling, speed, and amazing first touch, against a tired defence, Adingra can cause serious damage to any team. This is even more the case if they have already had 60 or 70 minutes up against Mitoma.
There have been a few shouts to start the Ivorian on the right, but after comparing his recent performances against Nottingham Forest (right wing) and Wolves (left wing), these shouts died down quite quickly.
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Right Wingers
On the opposite side, the Albion have three main options that they can utilise.
However, only one has been available so far in the opening fixtures, making the rankings slightly harder.
The 19-year-old was brought in over the summer for a fee of around £30 million, so there have been a lot of high expectations heading into the season. This is even more the case after his eye-catching pre-season performances.
Minteh kicked off his debut Premier League season with an opening day assist and terrorised the Everton defence before being taken off at half-time with an injury.
The Gambian has so far been inconsistent since that game, but he has shown in individual moments what he can do to unlock defences, and his work-rate in all areas of the pitch is unmatched.
His inconsistency should not be a concern as that is very common for any young winger playing the Premier League for the first time. Given time and minutes, he will flourish.
- 2. Brajan Gruda
Another young winger who was brought in for around £30 million over the summer, Gruda is yet to play due to an injury he picked up in training but has a lot of talent that could prove to be priceless down the right.
The Germany under-21 international has been touted as one of the brightest prospects in German football picking up four goals and three assists in his breakthrough Bundesliga season.
Gruda is clever on the ball with his dribbling and passing, can beat players with his pace, and has a very good eye for goal.
The ex-Mainz youngster was reportedly the club's top target over the summer, so once he returns from injury it would not be a surprise to see him swap places with Minteh in this list.
- 3. Solly March
It seems criminal to put March as a third choice, given his form before his injury and the quality he has when he is playing, but what Minteh and Gruda offer is slightly better and more suited to Hürzeler's system.
Hürzeler does like to rotate his squad, meaning March will still receive plenty of minutes upon his return and a chance to reclaim his starting spot.
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Strikers
Unsurprisingly, this is another position where Brighton have two main options. After injury woes last season, they will be hoping to keep both fit and firing to massively increase their goal tally once again.
After the former England international's start to the season, he is arguably undroppable.
Welbeck looks to be the perfect Hürzeler striker.
The 33-year-old makes clever runs between and behind opposition backlines, holds the ball up in the correct situations, turns in the correct situations, has pace, and of course, is an excellent finisher.
Welbeck has three goals and one assist in five Premier League starts this season.
When a striker is on form like that, there is no question as to whether they should be starting or not.
The Irish sensation is another who picked up a long-term injury at the back end of last season, so he has not played much football in the last few months leaving some people worried about what he would be like on his return.
His performance against Wolves in the Carabao Cup should have removed those worries.
Everyone saw over the last couple of seasons how strong and powerful Ferguson can be, and how clinical he can be in front of goal.
He has all the attributes to become a top-class striker, and with Hürzeler and his team's help, it could be a real possibility.
When both Ferguson and Welbeck are fight and firing, without a doubt there will be goals scored. But for at least the next few weeks and months, Ferguson has to work hard to take his teammate's spot.
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Second forwards
This is one of the most important roles within the system, so it is crucial that the Seagulls have a variety of strong options here.
After a summer of development and recruitment, they certainly now do.
- 1. João Pedro
There was not much doubt who the first choice was going to be in this position after his 15 goals and three assists in the previous campaign, and potentially more if he had not picked up an injury.
There is not much that needs to be said about the Brazilian, as every Albion fan knows how good he is and how crucial he is to the team.
- 2. Georginio Rutter
Rutter was brought into the club for a record £40 million, so a lot of fans have high expectations for him with many already criticising his performances, even though they were very good.
Of course, he still has some work to do to earn a starting spot, but in his starts against Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest, he looked to be an exceptional second striker.
Rutter can hold the ball up well to give Welbeck time to make his runs, has creative flair which he uses to link the play in difficult and tight scenarios, and also has similar power and pace to Ferguson.
There is work to be done on his finishing, but he was not brought in just to be that clinical goalscorer as some think he was.
- 3. Julio Enciso
When Enciso is on it, he is unstoppable.
When he is not on it, however, he tries too much and keeps hold of the ball for too long and ultimately ends up losing it in dangerous areas.
The Paraguayan is going to be one of Brighton's next big sales, but he needs to knuckle down and work hard to improve his game and at times, his selfishness. If that happens, he could be climbing up this list in no time.
Similarly to a lot of players on this list, he must be ready to take his chance when it presents itself. That could be soon, after Pedro's potentially serious injury against Nottingham Forest.
