Pascal Groß Scout Report At Brighton 2026/2027: Why Is The 35-Year-Old Midfielder Back To His Best Under Fabian Hürzeler Tactics? - Player Analysis

Pascal Groß has started the 2026/2027 Premier League season impressively for Brighton & Hove Albion.

His goal contribution numbers have been outstanding, as he has scored four goals and provided four assists in all competitions so far.

His output so far this term has already surpassed some of his previous full seasons with Brighton.

To see him reach this number in just the first eight games of the season for the Seagulls in all competitions is highly encouraging.

Groß is therefore expected to be extremely useful to Brighton this season, especially after failing to get the desired playing time at Borussia Dortmund last term before his Amex return.

This will push Groß to perform even better and make him eager to prove himself once again in the Premier League, with Brighton making him a key player in their midfield.

In this Pascal Groß scout report and player analysis, we explore the German midfielder's strengths and the major traits that are helping him to perform extremely well at the start of this season, while also shedding some light on his weaknesses.

Pascal Groß Style Of Play & Roles Within Fabian Hürzeler Tactics

Groß is a central midfielder who has some classic traits that this position requires, while also mastering several other positions, notably the No. 10 role, the deep-lying playmaker, the right midfielder, and also the right-back position.

The ability to play in these positions while preserving his playmaking qualities and proving that he succeeds in providing the necessary presence and support to the team’s attack makes him extremely valuable for the Seagulls.

Proposing this number of options to Fabian Hürzeler also helps Groß in guaranteeing the starting spot that he desired at this point in his career, knowing that Hürzeler has been using him mainly as a right central midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 formation or in the 4-3-3 formation.

Pascal Groß Heat Map 2026/2027

This has been the best possible use of the German player so far this term.

Being at the heart of his team's playmaking plays to Groß’s strengths, since he is known for his vision and excellent passing skills.

Whether via long passes, through passes or short passes, Groß represents a powerful asset for Brighton in terms of creativity, as they rely on him a lot in this regard, both as a set-piece specialist and in open play.

His vertical passes have already been very useful for the team in terms of chance creation and breaking opponents’ defensive lines.

In addition to that, the freedom that he is given to advance so often towards the box, propose passing options in that area and finish in a clinical manner from outside or inside the box has been valuable to the team this season.

In particular, his accurate and powerful shots from distance have represented a weapon for Brighton when they failed to score by other means.

It is a solution that Groß can keep using to surprise defences and goalkeepers with goals, knowing that he also needs to alternate his finishing solutions going forward, as teams will be applying more marking on him as soon as he advances to the final third.

The fact that Groß’s shooting and goalscoring form can be taken into consideration by future opponents is something that Hürzeler should expect and instruct the German player to diversify his shooting positions while also choosing unexpected timing of execution.

Even though Groß’s goalscoring numbers suggest that he was not consistent in this regard in every season, the fact that he had seasons during which he scored 10 goals prior to the current campaign shows that he has the experience needed to know how to keep his goalscoring strategies as varied as possible.

That said, it is also important to note that Groß is not a player who relies on acceleration or 1v1 dribbling.

He rather uses body feints to avoid tight marking and high pressing, but cannot be very useful in terms of accelerations, since his athletic abilities are limited in this regard.

To compensate for that, he relies on his passing skills and vision to do the job.

It would not be fair to categorise Groß as a powerful defensive midfielder.

Still, he positions himself well in defence and can be good at intercepting passes.

At the same time, he is limited in physical duels and can create issues for the team in defensive transitions, since his acceleration is not quick enough to help him get back to his position on time.

This means that using Groß in midfield requires placing a more defensive midfielder beside him to cover for him during such situations.

Regarding aerial duels, Groß’s abilities are limited too, as he cannot be relied on extensively for this duty, knowing that he averages 27.6% aerial duels won this season so far, a very average rate.

Despite these defensive weaknesses and the player’s limited acceleration and dribbling abilities, his work rate and tendency to position himself well enough to receive passes make him even more central to the team’s playmaking and build-up phases.

Pascal Groß Playmaking

So far, Groß has made four assists and has been crucial in providing key passes for his teammates in attack.

Apart from being a set-piece specialist who delivers accurate crosses for his teammates inside and near the box, Groß has also been very useful in terms of playmaking thanks to his vertical long passes.

His mastery of long passes has often helped Brighton in breaking opposing defensive lines and following strikers’ movements diligently.

One of the remarkable long-passing attempts that highlights Groß’s passing skills is shown below, with him scanning the pitch before receiving the ball and gaining time over his direct opponent before launching a perfect long pass in behind the defensive line.

Although this chance was missed, this opportunity proves that Groß’s playmaking efforts and creative long passes can be very dangerous for opposing defences and cannot be anticipated or predicted easily.

The only issue that impacts Groß’s assist-making numbers and prevents many of his creative key passes from becoming assists is the lack of finishing quality on many occasions, like in this example.

Pascal Groß Crossing Quality

Groß has got a unique crossing quality that reminds us of that of David Beckham, while some compare him to Toni Kroos in this regard.

Groß’s crossing accuracy and style resemble both of the aforementioned players, and that in itself says a lot about Groß’s quality in midfield.

Brighton have been benefitting from Groß’s long-passing skills not only in set-pieces but also in open play, and especially when using him as a right midfielder where he is more expected to launch curved crosses that can meet left-wingers and strikers in the perfect way for finishing.

This is one of the many playmaking solutions that Groß proposes to the team.

The following example showcases his perfectly curved crosses, meeting the receiver at the right spot and at the right time, despite the long distance.

Pushing Groß to intensify such crosses and training the wingers and strikers on dealing better with such crosses would definitely represent another goalscoring weapon for the team, knowing that this beautiful cross did not end with a goal due to the goalkeeper's save and the lack of power in the receiver’s shot.