‘Something new’ – Fabian Hurzeler says £70m attack trio could start for the first time ever at Bournemouth
For the first time this season, Fabian Hurzeler has all of his strikers available for selection ahead of the trip to Bournemouth.
The form and fitness of Joao Pedro, Danny Welbeck, Georginio Rutter and Evan Ferguson is a huge boost for the Seagulls but it does pose a selection problem for the head coach.
Pedro, who came off the bench and scored in the 2-1 win against Manchester City, is fit and firing once more following his ankle issue, Ferguson has finally shrugged off a foot injury and scored for Ireland during the international break, while Welbeck and Rutter have performed well together in their absence.
The experienced Welbeck has six goals and two assists so far this term and has formed a good partnership with Rutter – a £40m summer signing from Leeds – who has two goals and two assists.
Pedro, with three goals from three starts, is expected to be in XI at the Vitality Stadium – his first start since August 31 at Arsenal – and Hurzeler believes the £30m Brazilian can add to the attacking threat alongside Welbeck and Rutter.
“Yes, there is a scenario they can all play together,” said Hurzeler to Sussex World. “And how it will work, let’s see. We will see at the weekend. That will be something new for us and different than it was before.
“We have not made a decision yet, so it is very important to have all these players back, especially Joao, he can make a difference.
“Georinio and Danny showed some great performances already and now it’s also about them building relationships and building connections. It will get better game for game and let’s see how it will be at the weekend.”
Brighton have a number of attacking options and Hurzeler will have to make some tough decisions on Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra and Yankuba Minteh, who all returned this week from long haul international breaks.
While Ferguson will also be determined to increase his game-time as Albion prepare for a busy festive period.
Hurzeler added: “It’s the difficult part of the job to make unpopular decisions and for sure, not every player will be happy but in the end the decisions are always made for the success of the of the club.
“The players need to deserve to play and we had players who played before and our new players come back from injury and that’s very important for the competition in training.
“I’m really looking forward to every player being back because that produces a hunger, that I want to play, a hunger of I have to compete against my teammate, and like this, the team will grow.”
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