Brighton 2023/24 season preview: Key players, summer transfers, squad numbers & predictions

Roberto De Zerbi has a tough task ahead of him as he tries to improve upon last season's historic campaign.

The Italian tactician arrived at Brighton in September after Graham Potter's shock departure and helped guide the model Premier League side to a club-record sixth-placed finish, the FA Cup semi-finals and a spot in the Europa League.

Alexis Mac Allister has been the only high-profile departure ahead of the new Premier League campaign - Brighton also squeezed £25m out of Chelsea for the dropped goalkeeper Robert Sanchez - but the squad remains unsettled until the transfer window closes and Moises Caicedo's turbulent future is decided (for another six months at least).

Here's everything you need to know about Brighton ahead of the 2023/24 season.

Brighton's performance last five seasons

Season	Premier League	FA Cup	EFL Cup
2022/23	6th	SF	R4
2021/22	9th	R4	R4
2020/21	16th	R5	R4
2019/20	15th	R3	R3
2018/19	17th	SF	R2

Summer transfers

Ins:

Joao Pedro (FW) - Watford - £30m
James Milner (MF) - Liverpool - free
Mahmoud Dahoud (MF) - Borussia Dortmund - free
Bart Verbruggen (GK) - Anderlecht - £16.3m
Igor (DF) - Fiorentina - £14.5m

Outs:

Taylor Richards (MF) - QPR - undisclosed
Alexis Mac Allister (MF) - Liverpool - £35m
Antef Tsoungui (DF) - Feyenoord - undisclosed
Haydon Roberts (DF) - Bristol City - free
Teddy Jenks (MF) - Forest Green Rovers - free
Reda Khadra (FW) - Reims - £1.7m
Fynn Tally (GK) - Peterborough - free
Aaron Connolly (FW) - Hull City - £1.2m
Robert Sanchez (GK) - Chelsea - £25m

Squad numbers

*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window

Number	Name
1	Bart Verbruggen
2	Tariq Lamptey
3	Igor
4	Adam Webster
5	Lewis Dunk
6	James Milner
7	Solly March
8	Mahmoud Dahoud
9	Joao Pedro
11	Julio Enciso
13	Pascal Gross
14	Adam Lallana
15	Jakub Moder
17	Steven Alzate
18	Danny Welbeck
22	Kaoru Mitoma
23	Jason Steele
24	Simon Adingra
25	Moises Caicedo
26	Yasin Ayari
27	Billy Gilmour
28	Evan Ferguson
29	Jan Paul van Hecke
30	Pervis Estupinan
34	Joel Veltman
36	Andy Moran
37	Jensen Weir
38	Tom McGill
40	Facundo Buonanotte
41	Jack Hinshelwood
42	Odel Offiah
43	Imari Samuels
44	Cameron Peupion

Key players

Lewis Dunk is Brighton's longest-serving player / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages

Star player

Unreserved buy-in from Brighton's captain has been pivotal in the rapid adaptation to De Zerbi's rebellious play style. Lewis Dunk is often the figure with his studs on the ball, halting the game to bait the opposition press - akin to a beckoning finger.

At the back-end of last season De Zerbi spoke in reverential terms regarding his skipper. "I think he is a top player not only for us but the level of Dunk is higher than his career," the coach insisted. "He has to play 90 minutes every game for me. Dunk is not human!"

Dunk's extraordinary displays earned him a heartily deserved contract extension last summer.

One to watch

At 18, Facundo Buonanotte is the youngest player in Brighton's squad for the 2023/24 season / Adam Hunger/GettyImages

By the time Facundo Buonanotte was born, his new teammate James Milner had already made 60 Premier League appearances. The Argentine forward is the youngest of Brighton's glut of prodigies.

Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson will also vie for the limelight after racking up ten Premier League goals between them last term. Buonanotte opened his top-flight account against Nottingham Forest in April before becoming an increasing presence in the first team throughout the final month of last season.

2023/24 kits

Home kit

Brighton's new kit is awfully similar to the iteration from 2022/23 / Steve Bardens/GettyImages

Away kit

Green and black is BACK. 💚🖤 Introducing our 2023/24 @NikeFootball away kit! ⚡️
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) July 7, 2023

Third kit

Brighton have carried over their neon third kit from the 2022/23 season for the coming campaign / Sebastian Frej/MB Media/GettyImages

Premier League prediction

One of the individuals that has the best chance of predicting Brighton's upcoming season is the club's owner Tony Bloom. Long before he had all of his inside information, Bloom was a hugely successful professional gambler known as The Lizard - due to his cold, analytical reputation.

If Bloom were to posit a prediction for the Seagulls, he may be interested in the club's strong underlying numbers. Based on expected goal difference - which judges the overall quality of chances created and conceded - Brighton were the fourth-best performers last season. Only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool scored more actual goals than the Seagulls - although, they were surprisingly porous at the back.

De Zerbi only has experience of one season in European football - which is more than many of his squad. The Europa League may dampen the vibrancy coursing through the club but the Seagulls should still be on course for another top-half finish.