For Brighton, Pascal Gross is old but new. He was on loan from Borussia Dortmund but is now back in blue.
No player in Brighton’s Premier League history has been more important than the 34-year-old. He is the first player signed for a transfer fee of £3 million after being promoted to the top league. He stood as a symbol of the entire Brighton project, a match made in heaven.
But for Gross, nothing was more important than the Christmas call from Brighton that sealed his return to the club from Dortmund after 18 months.
“There were a few other options, but Brighton was always my first priority,” he told Sky Sports after returning to the Brighton blue outfit after taking part in his first training session with the team on Monday.
“I was in touch with all the players while I was away. Maybe I would watch fewer games, I might not be in touch as much, less and less, but that hasn’t really happened.
“I connected with people quite a bit. There was always potential in football, you never know.
“The whole club, the Amex, the fans, the city. I always feel really comfortable as a footballer and as a member of the family. It was a perfect match from the start and I’m really happy to be here for the second time.”
The Seagulls paid £1.2 million for Gross, but the fact is his influence is immense. Despite being away for 18 months, Gross still has more goals and assists than any player in Brighton’s history in the Premier League – even Danny Welbeck’s recent purple patch couldn’t knock him out of that position.
The 75 goals and assists he achieved in seven years attracted attention, including from Dortmund. It was the only club that could lure him away from the South Coast club.
“It was really tough,” Gross said of leaving last summer. “I always knew what I was going to get and I really liked it here.
“Something really special brought me here. What I wanted to see in Dortmund was the home games, the stadium, Champions League football, the team I’ve been following since I was really young.”
But now he’s back. And it’s the perfect New Year’s resolution for Brighton, who have been in tricky form of late. For the second year in a row, they failed to win a Premier League match in December and fell from fifth place to the bottom half.
But Gross’ return to action Saturday, albeit off the bench, ended a six-game winless streak. Such talismanic numbers could mark a key turning point in a season that has been inconsistent thus far.
Pascal Gross returned to Brighton for Saturday’s game against Burnley
“We have top senior players, we have a lot of young players, we have a lot of potential. I think it’s just balance that brings everything together. The Premier League is ruthless, so small mistakes are punished.
“So young people need to learn fast, grow fast and reach their full potential.”
Since his last Premier League start for Brighton, Gross has represented Germany in the European Championship, scored his first international goal, played and scored in the Champions League and also played in the Club World Cup. “A lot has happened in the last 18 months.”
His return to Brighton also comes at a time when he is aiming to make the German squad for this summer’s World Cup, having been excluded from the national team due to limited game time with Dortmund.
But at 34 years old, is Gross still the same player he once was? Will he be the same important cog as before?
“I think you’re always growing and gaining a little bit more experience,” Gross said when asked if he’s the same player. “But I’m still the same kind of player, just with a little bit more experience.
“It’s a different kind of football to play at the highest level every three days.
“When you play international football, the Euros and the Champions League, you basically play every three days. It’s really hard because it’s not easy. You play at a certain level and the ambition is always to win every game.
“It’s the same with big teams like Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool. They have pressure to win every three days and every game is not easy.
“When you go into a game like that, some teams maybe have a whole week to prepare. That’s a completely different story. So that was the biggest learning for me at Dortmund.”
Can Brighton beat Man City? Gross and Gruda discuss…
One player who could really benefit from Gross’s contribution is Brajan Gruda, a young German international still finding his way on the south coast.
The two actually met before Groda left Brighton, during the Germany national team camp ahead of Euro 2024. And the 34-year-old tried to speak to Gruda upon arriving at the club.
“When he came here, he spoke to me and said, ‘I’m here now, I’m going to help you,'” Gruda told Sky Sports.
“The conversation was fun. It’s all so fast, you can see everything moving so quickly. And he tried to help me.”
Did those conversations include getting Gruda to a World Cup-ready level by the summer? “This is what we want and what I dream of,” Gruda replied. “We both want to go.”
Before that, both Germans will aim to take Brighton as far as possible in the Premier League and possibly reach another European spot.
The trip to Manchester City may be a tough match for a repeat league title bid, but it’s worth noting that Gruda scored the winning goal as Brighton picked up three points against Josep Guardiola’s side at the Amex in August.
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Free to watch: Premier League highlights of Brighton vs. Man City
“If you give 100 percent every game, you can win against anyone. It doesn’t matter who you play.
“Any small mistake can be dangerous for us. There are good players everywhere in front of them. It will be very difficult to play against them.
“But it’s football. When you start playing football, everyone comes from the streets, so it’s all the same. They’re all human beings, so it doesn’t matter. If you have fun, you can beat everyone.”
Gross has already played at the Etihad Stadium this season, losing 4-1 to Manchester City in this season’s Champions League.
So can Brighton’s ‘old and new’ team learn from these past mistakes and achieve another big win?
“The team showed they can beat any of the teams above,” Gross said. “But it’s also very difficult to beat a team below you.
“Premier League? You never know. You always have to believe that we can prepare well. We have a lot of quality to hurt them too. But it’s going to be a tough game. We need to play really, really well to get something out of this game.”
Wednesday, January 7th 6pm
7:30pm kickoff
Watch Man City v Brighton live on Sky Sports this Wednesday night, kick-off 7.30pm
