Gull Mouth Action: Brighton throw away points vs Villa
Brighton and Hove Albion Albion team and transfer news ahead of West Ham
Brighton will closely assess their attacking situation as they prepare for the January transfer window.
The Seagulls face West Ham at the Amex Stadium today and then have just four more Premier League fixtures before the winter trading window opens.
The injury to Stefanos Tzimas - sustained last Wednesday in the 4-3 home loss to Aston Villa - is particular cause for concern.
The £22m summer arrival from FC Nurnberg was just starting to find his feet in the Premier League and netted his first top flight goal last Sunday in the 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest.
The Greek teenager looked lively during the opening exchanges against Aston Villa but suffered a knee injury after just 22 minutes.
Brighton need a back-up for veteran striker Danny Welbeck, who has been in fine form this term with eight goals already to his name. But at 35 years of age, and with a long track record of injuries, it’s tough to expect Welbeck to feature in every match.
Brighton have another untested player at Premier League level in Charalampos Kostoulas, but the £30m summer signing in yet to start in the top flight for Fabian Hurzeler’s team. The teenager could be involved this Sunday against West Ham but Brighton may look for a longer term option.
Evan Ferguson and Facundo Buonanotte are January options
They currently have Evan Ferguson on loan at Roma, but the Ireland international is struggling in Serie A and Hurzeler has never seemed fully convinced by the 21-year-old.
Argentina international Facundo Buonanotte is also on loan but is struggling for game time at Chelsea. Both could potentially be recalled in January.
Hurzeler said: “ Yeah, let's see when January comes how we try to make the team better.
“What changes we want to do, but at the moment we still have a few weeks to go.
“We still try to really focus on the present, because at the moment we can't change anything.
“We need to find solutions with the squad and the players we have, and the squad is definitely good enough to find good solutions.”
German under 21 international Brajan Gruda played the main attacking role against Aston Villa after Tzimas’ exit. Gruda set-up Jack Hinshelwood’s goal on the night and is an option.
Welbeck is though the most likely candidate to resume the attacking role after he dropped to the bench against Villa.
Hurzeler will also hope to have winger Kaoru Mitoma and Tommy Watson back after their recent injuries. Georginio could also return to face West Ham after a recent head injury prevented him from playing against Aston Villa.
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