The most expensive summer signing is not yet playing a role at Brighton. But coach Fabian Hürzeler is not under any pressure from above – even though the results have been mixed so far.
During the international break, Charalampos Kostoulas was finally able to let off some steam again. On Tuesday, the 18-year-old came on as a substitute after the break in Greece’s U21 friendly against Latvia (1-0); four days earlier, he was in the thick of the action when Greece pulled off a 3-2 coup in their European Championship qualifier against Germany in Jena. Kostoulas has had a much harder time with another German: Fabian Hürzeler, his coach at Brighton & Hove Albion. The Premier League club made the attacker its most expensive summer signing before the season. Within the club, only Georginio Rutter (signed from Leeds United in 2024 for around €45 million) had cost more than Kostoulas, who came from Olympiacos Piraeus for around €35 million and set a record in his home country as the most expensive Greek player in soccer history. Not only the fans in Brighton were eagerly awaiting what they would soon see. But so far, they have seen almost nothing. Hürzeler brought Kostoulas on in the second half of the League Cup games against lower-league Oxford United (6-0) and Barnsley FC (6-0), but not even that in the Premier League. After not even being included in the squad for the first six matchdays, he sat on the bench for 90 minutes in the 1-1 draw at Wolverhampton shortly before the international break. It was at least a small step forward.
Only Hürzeler decides when Kostoulas is “ready”
The club is reacting calmly to Hürzeler’s cautious approach, which also applies to 19-year-old winger Tommy Watson, signed from Sunderland for €12 million. “Every young player develops at a different pace, and Fabian will know when to use these players,” club owner Tony Bloom told the English media. “Even though we sometimes spend what we consider to be considerable sums on young players, there is no pressure on them to play immediately. Absolutely not.”
Kostoulas & Co. will be ready for their league debut “when Fabian thinks they’re ready,” Bloom emphasized. “We have a very good squad, the depth is excellent. That takes the pressure off us.” Brighton can simply afford to do this after the successful work of recent years. Kostoulas also secretly hopes to one day sell him for many times the €35 million he was bought for.
Currently, however, Hürzeler is under pressure to deliver. After a decent debut season in 8th place, an improvement is desired, with the goal of competing for European places. With nine points after seven matchdays (2/3/2 with 10:10 goals) – three fewer than a year ago – the Seagulls are in 12th place ahead of Saturday’s home game against Newcastle, who are just above them in the table (4 p.m.). Kostoulas wants to at least be back in the matchday squad.