Brajan Gruda finally seems settled at Brighton, but is he ready to be their next superstar?

Brajan Gruda, a promising German talent, is adapting to the Premier League after his move from Mainz to Brighton for £25 million. He has shown significant improvement, contributing with goals and assists while ranking highly in key offensive metrics. As the season progresses, Gruda looks poised to become a vital player for Brighton.

INMR

October 3, 2025

2–3 minutes

2024/25, ANALYSIS, brajan gruda, Brighton, Feature, FEATURES, football, gruda brighton, news, PL, Player analysis, Premier League, sports

Joining the Premier League as a 21-year-old from Germany is never easy. Brajan Gruda was one of the hottest prospects in the Bundesliga before leaving Mainz last summer, but he’s had to really perfect his craft at Brighton. It’s taken time, but Gruda seems settled at last and is ready to be the player Brighton paid £25 million for.

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Towards the end of last season, Gruda really came out of his shell and begun putting in some top performances. That form has carried over to the start of this season, making Hurzeler value him as a more important member of the team.

In Gruda’s last eight Premier League appearances, he’s provided three assists and scored two goals, including a match winner against Manchester City before the international break.

It’s not just his goal involvements though, Gruda’s overall play going forwards has come on massively, and he’s now a real threat in Brighton’s front line.

Last season, we saw glimpes throughout of what Gruda was capable of, even when he wasn’t providing goals or assists. The German showed off his creative ability well, ranking in the top 3% for goal-creating actions per 90 amongst his positional peers in the Premier League.

He also ranked in the top 7% for shot-creating actions per 90 with 5.11 and the top 2% for key passes per 90 with 3.01, more than Pascal Gross managed in his final season at Brighton.

Gruda was also very good at driving into dangerous areas and holding onto the ball in the penalty area, highlighted by his 6.03 touches in the opposition’s box per 90 (Top 15%).

As the 2025/26 season has only just got underway, Gruda has plenty of time to build on his recent spike in form and become a core part of Fabian Hurzeler’s set-up.

He’s been used as a super-sub so far, but Gruda is more than ready to make a difference from the start.

His energy going forward and eye for creating goal-scoring opportunities will surely be a big boost for the Albion as they aim to push for European places this season.