Praise for Pascal Gross, the player who does everything with Brighton | Brighton and Hove Albion

bRighton have a number of exciting young attackers in their books. João Pedro, the club's 22-year-old top scorer this season with 19 goals, missed the trip to Sheffield United on Sunday with a hamstring injury, so Roberto De Zerbi called up Simon Adingra, Facundo Buonanotte, Evan Ferguson and Ansu Fati, who are all under 23 years old. They left Bramall Lane with a 5-0 victory.

Buonanotte opened the scoring in the first half before Adingra returned from preparation Ivory Coast's winning goal in the Afcon final – added two more. Fati and Ferguson came on as second-half substitutes and with each passing week, De Zerbi seems to pull out another vibrant striker. However, there has been one constant throughout Brighton's season: Pascal Gross.

Little is said about his stupendous campaign, but the 32-year-old has been Brighton's shining light. Plucked from FC Ingolstadt for just £3m in 2017, Gross has been a regular ever since, with Chris Hughton, Graham Potter and now De Zerbi relying on the German player to operate in different roles and carry out various tasks on the pitch.

This is what makes Gross so effective for De Zerbi. This season alone he has played left back, right back, midfielder and attacking midfielder. No matter his position, Gross makes a solid turn for the team, as evidenced by his impressive WhoScored rating of 7.35, the best among the club's regulars this season.

Gross's ability to dictate the pace and pick apart opposing defenses was evident Sunday and has been that way all season. The victory at Bramall Lane was an excellent example of his ability on the ball. Gross created eight chances for his teammates while completing over 100 passes with over 90% accuracy. To say that he controlled the proceedings would be a gross understatement.

Only Bruno Fernandes (72) has made more key passes than Gross (67) in the first division this season. The Brighton star is also third in assists (nine) in the league, behind Kieran Trippier and Ollie Watkins (both 10).

Not only does he know when to make a defense-splitting pass, but he also helps Brighton dominate the ball. Their possession average of 62.4% is second only to Manchester City (65.7%), so it is clear that De Zerbi craves control. He has the players to do it. Gross ranks fifth in passes per game (80.4) in the league this season, trailing teammates Lewis Dunk (105.1) and Jan Paul van Hecke (88.9) in second and third respectively. Rodri, with an average of 105.9 per game, is the only midfielder in the League who makes more passes than Gross.

Brighton's plan is clear. Center backs usually turn to Gross to receive the ball and help stretch the game; only Dunk (4.9) is hitting long balls per game with greater accuracy than Gross (2.9) of Brighton's players this season. It is no coincidence that Brighton attack through midfield more often (31%) than any other Premier League team. What does “director” mean in German?

What also stands out about Gross is the desire to get stuck. He ranks first in tackles (44) of all Seagulls players, and has done more than players like Boubacar Kamara (43), Cristian Romero (42) and Enzo Fernández (41), players you'd expect to be ranked higher. in this metric.

Brighton have recently struggled with the juggling act between European and domestic football. They started the campaign brightly but have faltered due to the hectic schedule that comes with competing in the Europa League. The additional workload has taken its toll; They have not won consecutive league games since September and are currently seventh in the table with 38 points, 11 behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. If they manage to secure another European qualification, Gross's performances will be key.

As one of the elder statesmen of this exciting Brighton team, Gross takes it upon himself to lead by example on the pitch. He deserves all the praise he receives. “Pascal's exceptional skills and positive mentality have been instrumental in our success this season,” De Zerbi recently said of the midfielder. In a historic campaign for Brighton, Gross is ensuring the Seagulls continue to fly.