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EPL Brighton head coach Fabian Hurzeler needs to refresh his squad this summer Peter Powell/Getty Images Brighton & Hove Albion require a reset this summer to get back on track. Saturday’s 2-0 win at Brentford with the oldest starting XI of Fabian Hurzeler’s reign answered the immediate need for a result to halt their slide — but it also shone a light on areas of the squad demanding attention. The average age of the starting XI at Brentford — 28 years and 355 days — eclipsed the previous oldest line-up fielded by Hurzeler (28 years and 72 days) for the 3-0 win at Everton in August 2024 which launched the head coach’s tenure in style. Advertisement James Milner, Lewis Dunk and Danny Welbeck all started both of those matches (Welbeck also scored in both victories). Joel Veltman started at Everton and came off the bench in the second half at Brentford. Pascal Gross, sold to Borussia Dortmund a fortnight before the Everton game, started at Brentford after rejoining the club in January. The leadership group of senior pros that Hurzeler places a lot of faith in on and off the pitch still has legs. Hurzeler told The Athletic in January he wants Milner to stay beyond a one-year deal that expires in January. The hierarchy feel the same way about the 40-year-old, who broke Gareth Barry’s Premier League appearances record with his 654th game. “Let’s see, ” was Milner’s response when asked if he has another year left in him after an 89-minute shift at Brentford which showed he still has plenty to offer. Gross, 34, has a deal until June 2027. Hurzeler has other midfielders, including Sweden international Yasin Ayari, England under-21 Jack Hinshelwood and versatile Paraguayan international Diego Gomez, who opened the scoring at Brentford as a right-winger. But it is an area that will need strengthening if Carlos Baleba is sold in the summer. The 22-year-old Cameroonian’s form has dipped this season after the club resisted strong interest from Manchester United during last summer’s transfer window. Baleba nevertheless remains an obvious candidate for Brighton’s habit of making at least one major sale during recent summer windows. Further up the pitch, there is an over-dependence on 35-year-old Welbeck following the £60million ($81m) sale of Joao Pedro to Chelsea last summer. Welbeck, fifth on the list headed by Milner of current Premier League players with at least 300 appearances (he has made 389) is improving with age in terms of his goalscoring output. Welbeck is one short of his career-best tally of 10 league goals, achieved last season with Brighton, after scoring his ninth of the campaign at Brentford to equal his top totals for Manchester United in 2011-12 and 2013-14. Both Hurzeler and the club are also keen to keep Welbeck beyond the expiry of his contract in the summer. Who else does Hurzeler have to spearhead the attack? Stefanos Tzimas, 20, will be back next season after an anterior cruciate ligament rupture sustained in his knee on his full league debut in the 4-3 home defeat by Aston Villa in December cut short the Greek prospect's increasingly promising contribution. Tzimas's 18-year-old compatriot Charalampos Kostoulas has been sharing the No 9 role with Welbeck. Kostoulas has huge potential, but he is a long-term project. Tzimas too is still raw by Premier League standards. Evan Ferguson, loaned to Roma for the season, may yet rediscover top form — he has scored five goals in his last 38 appearances (the equivalent of a Premier League season) for Brighton, West Ham (loan) and Roma. Even if the 21-year-old Republic of Ireland international returns to the fold, it is questionable whether Hurzeler would then have enough centre-forward firepower for the club's stated aim of top-10 finishes, pushing for Europe qualification and domestic silverware. What about the centre of defence? Hurzeler was determined to keep hold of Dunk when this coming Sunday's visitors Nottingham Forest tried to lure him away in January with a wage increase and a longer contract than the deal he has with Brighton until June 2027 — an extra year was triggered for the long-serving skipper in December by an appearances-related clause. Hurzeler has been a staunch advocate of 34-year-old Dunk as both a player and leader. On the face of it, the future was addressed last summer by adding Olivier Boscagli and Diego Coppola to the squad. Coppola joined Paris FC on loan in January for the rest of the season to satisfy the 22-year-old's hunger for more game time in the hope of forcing his way into the Italy squad ahead of their looming World Cup qualifiers. In addition to that, Brazilian Igor Julio is back from a curtailed loan to West Ham and Adam Webster will return next season from knee ligament damage suffered by the 31-year-old during the pre-season camp in Spain last July. This apparent strength in depth could, however, take on a different complexion if Dunk's highly-rated partner Jan Paul van Hecke decides it is time to leave. Veltman's future at right-back is unclear. Van Hecke's Dutch compatriot is out of contract in the summer and the 34-year-old is keeping his options option. Another specialist right-back should be on the shopping list, even if the conversion of compatriot Mats Wieffer from a midfielder to right-back is permanent. Wieffer made a sound comeback at Brentford from a toe injury which had kept him out since the end of 2025 before Veltman replaced him in the second half. That opening win at Everton for Hurzeler 18 months ago followed a one-off splash of nearly £200million ($270m) on nine new signings in the summer window of 2024 after a succession of major sales in previous windows. Of those signings, only Wieffer and Turkish left-back Ferdi Kadioglu started at Brentford. Two others, the out-of-form Georginio Rutter and Yankuba Minteh, were unused substitutes. The bench included three more substitutes signed last summer — Boscagli (unused), Kostoulas (unused) and left-back Maxim de Cuyper, a 76th-minute replacement for Gomez. With a winless run stretching to six league games and the danger of being dragged into a relegation fight mounting, Hurzeler relied at Brentford on seven starters who were at the club before his appointment. That does not say much for nearly 20 signings across Hurzeler's time in charge for a total outlay of around £300m (major sales have raised nearly £400m across the last three seasons according to figures from Transfermarkt). Jason Ayto, in what will be his first summer transfer window as sporting director, and technical director Mike Cave have a lot of work to do to restore Brighton's reputation for smart recruitment and to give Hurzeler a better chance of achieving the club's aspirations. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Andy Naylor worked for 32. 5 years on the sports desk of The Argus, Brighton’s daily newspaper. For the last 25 of those years he was chief sports reporter, primarily responsible for coverage of Brighton and Hove Albion FC. Follow Andy on Twitter @Andy Naylor BHAFC