Brighton are still in the hunt for Europe but Georginio Rutter’s absence gives Hurzeler a dilemma

Fabian Hurzeler must find a way of compensating for the loss of Georginio Rutter if Brighton & Hove Albion are to qualify for Europe.

That is no easy task because the head coach does not have a ready-made replacement for the Frenchman in the No 10 role.

The damage done by losing Rutter to an ankle injury — possibly for the remainder of the season — in the second of half of Saturday’s departure from the FA Cup quarter-finals on penalties to Nottingham Forest was painfully evident in last night’s 3-0 home defeat by Aston Villa.

Brajan Gruda took over the position, playing off Joao Pedro. The 20-year-old, signed five days after Rutter in August from Bundesliga side Mainz for £25million ($32.7million), is technically gifted with lots of potential, but he looked lightweight by comparison.

Rutter has made an impact since becoming the club’s most expensive purchase last summer in a £40million ($52.3million) move from Leeds United. The 22-year-old’s influence extends beyond the bare facts of a healthy 12 goal involvements in 32 appearances (eight goals and four assists).

He has physicality in and out of possession, which he combines with an insatiable work rate. A telling indication of his importance to Hurzeler is that he has featured in all 32 games he has been available, starting 23 and appearing as a substitute in the other nine. He was signed after the 3-0 opening league win at Everton and was ineligible for three Carabao Cup ties after playing in the competition for Leeds.

Hurzeler outlined his No 10 options during his pre-match press conference for Villa’s visit. “We have Danny Welbeck, Joao Pedro, Gruda, Matt O’Riley, even Diego (Gomez) and Yasin (Ayari) can play there, so we have different players that can replace Georgi,” Hurzeler told The Athletic. “For sure, they have different profiles.

“Georgi is a very physical player. Gruda is a player who wants his freedom, who is trying to find his own space. Matt O’Riley is very good in positioning. He has a great left foot. They all have different profiles. It’s about what we need to face the next opponent. Which connection is the best? That is always what we try to figure out and then try to make the right decision.”

Joao Pedro is better suited to the No 10 role than No 9. The Brazil international thrives on dropping deep to link the play. Playing Joao Pedro at No 10 and Welbeck at No 9 is the most obvious and the most effective way of dealing with Rutter’s absence.

The problem with that is that it asks a lot of Welbeck, at 34 years old with a history of injuries, to play continually for 90 minutes. Welbeck started the Forest tie, Joao Pedro replacing him in the 73rd minute. Roles were reversed against Villa, as Joao Pedro made way for Welbeck after 72 minutes.

It helps that there are week-long gaps between each of the remaining eight games, but the long list of No 10 possibilities referred to by Hurzeler is misleading. Gruda’s previous five league starts were all on the right wing. He is a skilful dribbler, but Hurzeler acknowledged in the build-up to the game that the Germany under-21 international is still adapting to the intensive demands of the league. That is hard enough, without playing out of position.

There were encouraging moments in the first half against Villa to suggest an understanding could develop between Gruda and Joao Pedro. They combined early on, Villa defender Pau Torres thwarting a goal scoring opportunity for Joao Pedro by intercepting Gruda’s return pass. In the 26th minute they were in the same vicinity when Gruda dropped deep to release Kaoru Mitoma in a move which ended with Simon Adingra narrowly missing the target.

Hurzeler said of the combination between Joao Pedro and Gruda: “Quite good, especially the first half. They both connected quite well. They pressed well, they played together well. After the (first goal), the whole team were a little bit down. We weren’t able to lift ourselves up. We had to make two changes and the whole dynamic changed, the whole structure.”

Brajan Gruda’s previous five league starts for Brighton have come on the right wing. (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Gruda was on the pitch for his longest period across 15 appearances in all competitions, eventually making way for O’Riley in the 83rd minute. The injury-hit Danish international, another of the signings last summer from Celtic for £25million ($32.7million), is better known as a No 8 or No 6 than as a No 10. Gomez and Ayari, the other players mentioned by Hurzeler, formed the central midfield partnership against Villa. Ayari had the most shots in the match (three). The Swedish international also won the joint-most duels (eight) and made the most tackles (five) for his team.

None of them are natural forwards in the mould of Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso, respectively loaned out to West Ham and Ipswich during the January transfer window. Ferguson is a No 9, not a No 10. The Republic of Ireland international has made little impression so far in his reunion with former Brighton head coach Graham Potter (no goals or assists in 137 minutes, mainly as a substitute).

Enciso would have been a better fit to solve the No 10 problem, but he wanted to leave for more game time. The enigmatic Paraguay international provided his second assist in six appearances in a 2-1 win for relegation-bound Ipswich at Bournemouth in his last game, preventing Andoni Iraola’s side from joining Villa in overtaking Brighton in the congested race for European places. Brighton are still in the hunt, but Rutter’s absence is a damaging blow to their ambitions.

Top photo: Warren Little/Getty Images