Brighton & Hove Albion have had a mixed start to their second season in the Premier League, with a loss and a win from their opening two games of the season. Most of the starting eleven in both games have been inconsistent, with the players not performing well against Watford and excelling Vs Manchester United.
However, there is one player who has performed well in both of Brighton’s opening two games, and that is midfielder Davy Propper.
Propper has been worth every penny
Propper joined Brighton back in the summer of 2017 for a then club-record fee believed to be around £10m from PSV Eindhoven. At the start of last season, he looked tentative, lightweight on the ball and many wondered how long he would last in the midfield.
However, after three or four games he settled in and became one of the first names on the teamsheet alongside Dale Stephens in the centre of the park. He ended last season making 35 appearances out of a possible 38. Propper and Stephens have formed a formidable partnership, with them complementing each other well. Stephens in the previous season looked more the tough tackler who would sit deep and let Propper be the more creative one getting forward and being involved with the attacks.
Propper’s improvement this season
Propper has improved massively this season, and he seems to be a bit more physical and willing to get involved more against strong players, like Paul Pogba to name just one.
He also is making more interceptions and trying to play a bit deeper, so that when he wins the ball, he can pick out a defence-splitting pass. The Dutch midfielder stood out in both the Watford and United game for a couple of reasons. The first was the sheer number of interceptions he was making. Secondly, his tendency to try and get Albion on the front foot after winning the ball back.
Where does Propper need to improve?
Despite Propper having put in some great performances so far this season, there is one area he needs to improve on, that is the statistic of goals scored and assists made. At PSV, Propper was chipping in with doubles figures on both goals and assists during the duration of a season.
However, since joining Brighton in his 42 appearances so far, he has scored no goals and only got two assists. For me this is something, Propper needs to work on. The one missed chance that springs to mind is in Brighton’s home game Huddersfield Town at The Amex. In the opening minute of the match, Propper got in behind the defence, but could only fire wide of the post.
He has had plenty of other chances in the game, but failed to convert which is the only criticism Brighton fans would have with Propper.
Disclaimer: This article was written before Brighton’s narrow loss against Liverpool.
