New Delhi: German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund have announced the signing of Brighton and Hove Albion’s Pascal Gross for £5.9 million. The Seagulls are said to have reluctantly accepted the bid for the German International who was in the final year of his contract. Brighton wanted to keep their star midfielder at the club but couldn’t deny their long-serving player’s dream move.
Gross joined the club in 2017 after the club had achieved promotion back to the top flight, becoming their most expensive signing at the time, when he signed for £3 million from FC Ingolstadt. He joined the club as a virtual nobody and went on to become one of the best players in the club’s history while being one of the best players in the league not playing for the traditional top-six.
He was influential to the club becoming Premier League regulars and challenging for European positions regularly. In seven years with Brighton, he made a total of 261 appearances for the club, becoming the club’s sixth most-capped player. Out of his 261 appearances, 228 came in the Premier League, making him second on the list of most Premier League appearances for Brighton.
508 – Between the 2017-18 and 2023-24 Premier League campaigns, only Kevin De Bruyne (602) created more chances than Pascal Groß (508). Inventive. pic.twitter.com/whGFwL1hWC
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 1, 2024
In addition to his appearances record, he is also the club’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League with 30 goals, which makes it fitting that he was the one who scored the club’s first goal back in the league after 34 years. Gross was an exceptional creator for the club, getting 52 assists during his stay with the club and the Seagulls would surely miss his presence and experience in the coming season.
Brighton’s new manager, Fabian Hurzeler, is the youngest permanent manager in the league’s history and he would’ve been counting on Gross’ experience to help him navigate through the league but will have to do without the experienced midfielder. On his departure, Hurzeler said, “We are really sorry to lose Pascal, but we fully understood his situation.” He added, “It is understandable that he wanted to take the opportunity to join one of the very top clubs in Germany, and he goes with our best wishes for the future.”
Composure.
Where does this rank among Pascal Gross’ best Premier League goals? 🪄 pic.twitter.com/D1YMxaiNAS
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 1, 2024
The young manager added that he was disappointed that he couldn’t work with Brighton’s modern-day legend but wishes him all the best for the future. Gross has been a late bloomer, enjoying his best form after joining Brighton at 26. His impressive form with the Seagulls saw him being called up to the German national team at the age of 32 and was also a part of his country’s UEFA Euro 2024 squad.
He now joins his boyhood club Borussia Dortmund on a two-year deal till June 2026. He faces a similar situation at Dortmund as he would’ve faced at Brighton as the German club have an incredibly young manager at their helm as well in former player Nuri Sahin, who is taking charge of his first professional team this season and will look to an experienced player like Gross to help navigate through the Bundesliga.
German International Pascal Gross has finally landed the big move his skills deserved, joining last season’s UEFA Champions League finalists Borussia Dortmund. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
