14 August 2023 , 01:00
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Roberto De Zerbi wants to bring in a direct replacement for Moises Caicedo despite an impressive display from his midfielders on Saturday.
Pascal Gross and Mahmoud Dahoud, the summer signing from Borussia Dortmund, impressed as Luton were soundly beaten. But De Zerbi still wants to add the physicality his side will lose if — or rather when — Caicedo’s exit is finally resolved.
De Zerbi said: “We need another midfielder if Caicedo leaves. And for me he can leave. We need another midfielder with the same characteristics and the same importance because in the Premier League in midfield positions sometimes you need more kilograms, more impact.”
Caicedo’s energy would be missed by any team, especially with more stoppage-time than ever this season. Some managers and players are upset about the new rule that creates it, but not De Zerbi.
He added: “It is right because time-wasting last year was a bad thing to watch the game for 90 minutes if you play 43 minutes, it’s not a good thing for football and the fans.
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“Sometimes we will play and win, sometimes we will lose, it won’t change for me, but for the fans who paid for their tickets, yes [it changes].”
Seagulls skipper Lewis Dunk was hard done by when referee David Coote gave a penalty against him for handball after Jacob Brown’s cross scratched his back on the way to hitting his trailing arm.
Dunk said: “I’m actually not too sure [what happened]. I’ve just gone to block the cross. I don’t know where… maybe chop my arms off or something. It’s one of those but thankfully we won in the end.”
Dunk insists there’s no additional pressure on Brighton this season after the success they enjoyed last time out in qualifying for the Europa League.
He added: “I wouldn’t call it pressure. We’ve always had targets in mind and our targets are set, like last year, high. If you don’t set your targets high you never reach them.
“So we’re going to be pushing on. We’ve improved every year we have been in the Premier League under every single manager we have had so let’s hope we improve again this year and have an even better season.”