Brighton: next season’s goal is a return to European competition

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Brighton & Hove Albion just concluded a bittersweet season. The team finished eight in the Premier League in 2024/2025. It is not a bad placement since they are not part of the English Football League elite and this championship is arguably the most difficult in the world. The UEFA ranking, though, admitted only seven English teams in European competitions last year. Thus, finishing eighth meant watching Wednesday and Thursday night games from the couch.

This year, another English team will join the European fray, meaning whoever finished the Premier league in eighth position may play in the Conference League. Brighton (and every other team) has one more chance to play for some continental silverware. The clear season goal for the Seagulls is to exploit this opportunity. Brighton played in the last Europa League but won’t do the same next year, at least for what we know while we write (more on this later). Fans, players and staff alike hope to be back in the race in 2026.

Can Brighton actually play good football in the next few months?​

The Seagulls could be one of the surprise packages next season. Fans looking to back Brighton’s journey can take advantage of free betting credits available on selected platforms, should they want to bet on their idols. It could be worth a try because the team seems loaded to make a run for Europe.

There is quite a lot of optimism around Brighton, because of a brilliant transfer window that already brought the Greek forward Charalampos Kostoulas to Brighton (pending a physical examination due to go down in the next few days). The player is only 18 but he is already a Greek champion and showed his talents aplenty. This is the reason why Olympiakos Pyraeus asked to insert a sizable sell-on clause in the deal.

Charalampos Kostoulas signs for Brighton.jpg


The sum of 40 million euros that Brighton is about to pay is the most expensive ever for a Greek, but the Seagulls don’t mind spending that much for a player already compared to Gabriel Batistuta in his youth. Other players that Brighton recently added to its roster are Tom Watson, Do-young Yoon and the Italian defender Diego Coppola. This is a lot of young talent for a quite ambitious team. The gaffer, Fabian Hurzeler, is convinced that investing in young talent means forming a solid side, rich in enthusiasm and grit.

Not every Albion’s fan may know these players, given their age. On our forums, though, it is possible to find news, stats and opinions on them. Check what supporters are saying about Coppola, the next Alessandro Nesta according to someone, on the dedicated forum thread.

What if Brighton ends up in the Conference League?​

Before looking ahead to next season, however, it is important to check the situation with Crystal Palace. The Londoners won the FA Cup and are qualified for the Europa League. Their owner John Textor, though, is also the main investor in the French side Lyon. This team qualified for the competition as well. Nottingham Forest immediately took action with UEFA to ask for a disqualification. By rule, there cannot be two teams after the same management playing in European tournaments. Should this happen, the team with the worst league position will be kept out. In this case, Lyon has a better placement and Palace risks being disqualified. Forest hopes to replace Palace in the competition, Should this happen, Brighton would qualify for the Conference League as the first excluded team. A decision on this matter by the UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body is expected for the 27th of June. Textor is reportedly considering a sale of some of his quota to circumnavigate the issue.
 


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