Brighton & Hove Albion have consistently coped without their most influential players when they are sold, out of form or injured, but the absence of Kaoru Mitoma is beginning to bite.
The Japan left-winger was missing for the ninth league match in a row in Sunday’s 1-1 home draw against West Ham United, which was rescued by Georginio Rutter’s 91st-minute equaliser.
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler has found different ways to cope without Mitoma, who is recovering from an ankle issue. Results have been decent without him — four wins, three draws, two defeats, with 16 goals scored — but West Ham were the type of obdurate opponents crying out for Mitoma’s elusive dribbling ability to open them up with a sprinkling of stardust.
Mitoma has provided 21 goals and 18 assists in 94 league appearances since signing for £3million ($4m) from Kawasaki Frontale in his homeland in 2021 — and those statistics only tell part of his importance. In January, Brighton rejected a £61m bid from Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr for the 28-year-old, who has been capped 29 times by Japan.
Hurzeler’s team are faring pretty well this season in seventh place when you consider that main goalscorer Joao Pedro was sold to Chelsea in the summer, key midfielder Carlos Baleba has been below par and No 10 Rutter has been struggling to scale the same heights he reached in 2024-25 until an ankle injury ruled him out from March for the rest of the campaign.
Kaoru Mitoma has an ankle injury (Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Mitoma has not featured since he was substituted during the second half of the 3-1 win at Chelsea in September. Hurzeler told reporters before Wednesday’s 4-3 defeat against Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium that he is back in training and “really close” to returning to action. The bulletin on Mitoma’s progress back to full fitness shifted before West Ham’s visit. Hurzeler said during his press conference on Friday that he “had a small setback”.
Hurzeler has been inventive with solutions to Mitoma’s spell on the sidelines. Yankuba Minteh was switched from the right flank to the left for the 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton Wanderers in October. Versatile Paraguayan midfielder Diego Gomez has started on the left wing four times, including home wins against Newcastle United (2-1), Leeds United (3-0) and Brentford (2-1), as well as a 0-0 draw at rivals Crystal Palace.
In the last three matches, Hurzeler has devised another method to compensate. Summer signing Maxim De Cuyper, primarily known as a left-back, has been deployed ahead of Kadioglu, with the pair regularly rotating roles during the game. It worked well when De Cuyper opened the scoring in the 2-0 win at Nottingham Forest in late November, but not as well in the eventful defeat by Villa.
De Cuyper’s position higher up the pitch had been alien to the former Club Brugge defender since his youth, but he has adapted to the task of camouflaging the loss of Mitoma’s output. In the first half against West Ham, two crosses from De Cuyper almost yielded a breakthrough. Mats Wieffer somehow failed to get a decisive touch to the first from inside the six-yard box, while an acrobatic volley from Rutter was blocked by El Hadji Malick Diouf shortly before half-time. The way that Diouf punched the air in celebration was indicative of a goal-saving intervention.
Rutter’s leveller in stoppage time from close range, after Alphonse Areola had repelled his initial effort, will be a relief for the 23-year-old Frenchman, ending a drought stretching back to February. It was Rutter’s 19th shot attempt of the campaign. At the time of scoring, only Bournemouth’s David Brooks (20) had attempted more shots without scoring in the Premier League this term. Speaking to The Athletic in November, Rutter admitted: “Since (Joao Pedro) left, I’ve had the pressure to score he had, but it’s football, so I have to take it.”
Carlos Baleba’s performances have dipped this season (Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Baleba, on the other hand, continues to suffer after head-turning interest from Manchester United during the summer transfer window. On Sunday, Hurzeler replaced Baleba with Jack Hinshelwood after an hour, just before Jarrod Bowen fired West Ham into the lead.
“The reason was to bring on a more creative player in that position with Jack, to control the game more, find more solutions to switch play,” Hurzeler said after hooking Baleba before the 61st minute for the seventh time in 13 league starts this season. “Unfortunately, after we conceded the goal, the plan was over within (minutes).
“We saw a better Carlos against Villa regarding his physicality. Today, he seemed not to be on his highest level, so it’s an ongoing thing for him this season. It’s all of our responsibility, from the player, from us, to give him the right solutions, the help that he comes back to strength.”
Baleba heads off to the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco with Cameroon after Saturday’s game away to Liverpool. It is unclear whether Hurzeler will have Mitoma back for the trip to Anfield or further challenges in December and early January, including the return fixture against West Ham, plus visits to Arsenal and Manchester City.
Tommy Watson, signed in the summer from Sunderland, is yet to start a league game. The 19-year-old is earmarked as a long-term replacement for Mitoma but injuries have disrupted his adaptation process. For the more immediate well-being of Hurzeler’s side, the sooner that Mitoma is back causing headaches to opponents, the better.
