Albion Analytics: Alternative Awards 2024/25

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Who did best according to the numbers?

Liam Tharme

Albion Analytics

2025-06-03T06:00+01:00

Carlos Baleba put in some all action displays for Albion during the 2024/25 season. 📷 by Sam Stephenson.

For the fifth consecutive season, the Albion Analytics Alternative Awards are back.

These are a data-driven approach to crowning Brighton players in specific categories for 2024/25, beyond just straightforward goals/assist metrics.

Data darling (best underlying numbers): Kaoru Mitoma

Kaoru Mitoma scored ten Premier League goals during the 2024/25 season. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

The Japan international truly burst into life this season. He was one of three Brighton players (along with Danny Welbeck and Joao Pedro) to score ten league goals, which is as many as Mitoma managed in his first two campaigns at Brighton (3 in 2022/23 and 7 in 2023/24).

He is known for his dribbling and topped the Brighton charts in dribbles as well as progressive carries, the only player to record over 100 in each metric, and one of only 16 Premier League players in 2024/25 to manage triple digits in both.

During the season he became the leading Japanese scorer in Premier League history (overtaking Shinji Okazaki at Leicester) but it was his all-round game which stood out. He had the most shot-creating actions (85) of any Brighton player, and blocked the most opposition passes (45). Mitoma tied with Carlos Baleba for the most final-third tackles (16) in the team, showing his capacity to work out-of-possession too.

There was an impressive split to his goals, with six right-foot finishes, two with his non-dominant left-foot and two headers (taking his total to five Premier League headers). The goals were important too, with six of Mitoma’s 11 in all competitions being match-winning ones, the most in Hurzeler’s side, while three of his other goals were game-state changing (losing to drawing or drawing to winning).

Best under-23: Carlos Baleba

Carlos Baleba made 34 Premier League appearances this season. 📷 by Simon Roe.

He plays with such assurance, technique and swagger that one has to remind themselves Carlos Baleba is only 21 — Southampton’s Matheus Fernandes is the only Premier League midfielder aged under 22 to have played more minutes than Baleba in 2024/25.

The Cameroon international developed a reputation for his capacity to dazzle, including scoring Brighton’s longest-range goal in Premier League history in April at home to West Ham (to win the game), but it is what he does between both boxes that earns him this award.

He topped the Brighton charts for tackles (76), interceptions (44) and ball recoveries (187), showcasing an unparalleled ability to break up opposition attacks. Impressively, for a player so defensively active, Baleba won more fouls (46) than he made (40) in 2024/25. He put up an aerial duel success rate of 61% and completed 58% of his dribbles, showcasing a mix of style and substance.

Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez was the only player younger than Baleba to put up all three of: 50+ tackles, 50+ progressive passes and 40+ interceptions. Brighton had a goal difference of +13 with the 21-year-old onfield, their best of any individual.

Signing of the season: Yankuba Minteh

Yankuba Minteh was directly involved in ten Premier League goals in his debut campaign for Albion - six goals, four assists. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

The then-teenage Gambian arrived from Newcastle last June and delivered immediately with an assist on his debut against Everton. Availability was important (other signings had injuries along the way_=) and Minteh played the most league minutes (1,749) of any summer arrival, one of four Brighton players — along with Joao Pedro, Welbeck and Mitoma — to hit double digits for goals plus assists (six goals, four assists for Minteh).

He ranked second for crosses (85) while Mitoma was the only player to better his 88 dribbles, 85 progressive carries and 135 touches in the opposition box. Most impressive though was Minteh’s output considering his volume. He completed 46.6% of dribbles (3% above the league average) and ranked third in the entire division for 1v1s in the penalty area (23), with 11 of his take-ons leading to shots, the most for Brighton in 2024/25.

The Gambia international showed both sides to his game, often defending as a wing-back in a makeshift back-five. He was among the top ten Premier League players for sprint distance per match, and was one of four Brighton players to register ten-plus tackles in each third of the pitch, and his 31 clearances were the most of any Brighton forward.

Best creator: Jan Paul van Hecke

Jan Paul van Hecke won Albion's Player of the Season and Players' Player of the Season award. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Creativity comes in different forms and is more than just assists. Ball progression is equally important, and men’s player of the season Jan Paul van Hecke encapsulated that. His 228 progressive passes were the eighth most in the entire division and over 80 more than the next-best Brighton player (Lewis Dunk, 142). It meant that van Hecke accounted for 22.4% of all Brighton’s progressive passes, the highest proportion of any player at any team in the Premier League.

His 65.6% long pass completion was outstanding (14% above the league average) and enabled Brighton to break lines in various ways, with the Netherlands international also playing the most switches of play (19) among his teammates.

In total, Van Hecke’s forward passes covered the equivalent of 132 full lengths of the Amex pitch — which equates to almost three and a half a game.

It is little wonder that Hurzeler said he “has all the character sides to one day be the captain."

Goal of the season: Carlos Baleba vs West Ham & Tariq Lamptey vs Aston Villa

In previous years a best non-goalscorer has been awarded, but will not this year on the basis that there were not enough candidates. Brighton had the most different scorers in the Premier League (18, with Diego Gomez the final one on matchday 38 against Tottenham Hotspur) so a goal of the season is being awarded instead. The title is shared.

For individual brilliance, Carlos Baleba’s match-winning strike against West Ham earns the award. It was the longest-range Brighton goal in Premier League history (31.4 metres), and one of only five winning goals scored beyond the 90th minute by a Brighton player in the competition.

To celebrate a team move, Tariq Lamptey’s equaliser at Villa Park will share the award. It was a ten pass move from back-to-front that went round and then through the Villa press, with seven of Brighton’s 11 players involved, as Joao Pedro provided the set-up for Lamptey to fire in.