Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace shoots whilst under pressure from Lewis Dunk of Brighton & Hove AlbionIsmaila Sarr of Crystal Palace shoots whilst under pressure from Lewis Dunk of Brighton & Hove Albion
Ismaila Sarr of Crystal Palace shoots whilst under pressure from Lewis Dunk of Brighton & Hove Albion
Lewis Dunk is back to fitness but should the skipper to a regular starter for Fabian Hurzeler?
Dunk had just missed five matches with a calf injury sustained in the warm-up ahead of the 2-2 home draw against lowly Wolves on October 26.
The 33-year-old was back to full fitness and was preparing for his return against Southampton at the Amex Stadium on November 29.
For as long as many Brighton fans can remember the situation with Dunk has always been quite simple: if he’s fit, he plays and he’s pretty much nailed-on to be a 7-10 or higher every game.
The recent emergence of defender Jan Paul van Hecke has been a major positive at Brighton and the Netherlands international has been tipped as a potential captain of the future.
Van Hecke has probably taken Dunk’s mantle as Albion’s most reliable defender in the last season or so, while Brazilian Igor Julio – despite a tricky start to his Albion career – also impressed in Dunk’s absence.
Van Hecke and Igor were excellent in the back to back victories against Manchester City and Bournemouth and rightly kept their places in the starting XI for the disappointing 1-1 draw with Southampton.
Dunk was on the bench but came on in the second half as Hurzeler switched formations in an attempt to force a winner against the Saints.
Hurzeler then shoe-horned Dunk back in to his starting XI for the next match at Fulham as he went with a back five that accommodated Dunk, Igor and Van Hecke – it failed to worked as the Seagulls were soundly beaten 3-1 at Craven Cottage.
A late capitulation at Leicester followed as Igor made way and Dunk was part of a back four that shipped two late goals in a 2-2 draw at Leicester, quickly followed by Sunday’s painful 3-1 defeat to old rivals Crystal Palace.
The manner of the loss to Palace would have hurt Dunk and his display – along with others – was criticised. The Brighton skipper was perhaps at fault for the second Palace goal as Ismaïla Sarr nipped behind him to head home and Dunk was then second to the ball in the closing stages as Sarr added a third.
The captain had just lost an aerial challenge to Palace substitute Eddie Nketiah and could not regain his position in time to prevent Sarr from sealing the win.
It was a tough watch and when you make mistakes in the Premier League as a 33-year-old the easiest thing to point to is the age. He’s eight year’s older than the fresh-legged Nketiah, Sarr is seven years his junior and he’s two year’s older than his manager Hurzeler.
At nine years younger, his defensive partner Van Hecke is undroppable on current from and Igor, 26, is pushing Dunk hard to start this Saturday at West Ham.
Dunk has clocked up 471 matches for his hometown club, he has risen from League One and been the most important player as the club established themselves in the Premier League.
He has played through numerous injuries and it’s true he’s not the player of two or three seasons ago but in my view it’s far too early to write off the skipper.
This season has been his most challenging by far. After competing in the Premier League and the Europa League last term, Dunk then went straight to the Euros as an unused player in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
With hardly any pre-season under his belt, he swiftly returned to Brighton with a new manager and was straight in the starting XI for the first match of the campaign at Everton and then the next eight. It’s little wonder he broke down with injury ahead of Wolves.
Hurzeler’s system can leave defenders exposed and at times Brighton have paid the price in one-v-one situations. Van Heck, Igor, Joel Veltman or Dunk are not the quickest and that’s why another man in midfield, alongside the youthful Carlos Baleba, could provide more assurance to the backline that has been far too leaky. Hurzeler’s current system is not helping the team or Dunk.
The likes of Ashley Young, 39, Jamie Vardy, 37 and Jonny Evans, 36 are still performing at the highest level, while Thiago Silva, 40, was at Chelsea last season. With the right players around him, Dunk can still do something similar for Brighton.
His minutes on the pitch should be more sensible these days but if fit, he should start ahead of Igor at West Ham this Saturday and if Brighton are to push for Europe once more, Dunk will play a key role. His experience, defensive qualities and passion for the club is something you can’t buy. He remains a huge asset.
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