Brighton & Hove Albion

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler is confident that winger Kaoru Mitoma will be fully fit at the start of the 2024-25 Premier League season.

Mitoma missed the final three months of last season because of a back problem, but the winger has returned to action during Brighton's pre-season tour of his native Japan.

Speaking after Sunday's 4-2 win against Tokyo Verdy, Hurzeler told the club website:, external "Kaoru Mitoma is not 100% but he has now played two very good games and he was training every session.

"He is trying to improve his physical condition. On the pitch we saw that he has unbelievable skills. We still have three weeks to go, so I think it will be improved day-by-day.

"I'm convinced and I'm sure that Kaoru will be 100% when the season starts."

The Seagulls comfortably won both of their friendly matches in Japan, scoring nine goals in the process.

Hurzeler added: "We've had a really good week's training, working very hard in tough conditions. The players have put a lot into training and we've had two good matches against good opponents.

"It's been great for team bonding and we've also been able to enjoy much of what Tokyo has to offer, and the players have embraced the Japanese culture."

Brighton finished their pre-season tour of Japan with a 4-2 win over Tokyo Verdy on Sunday.

Goals from Jan Paul van Hecke, Yankuba Minteh, Simon Adingra and Jeremy Sarmiento saw the Seagulls make it back-to-back victories having beaten Kashima Antlers on Wednesday.

What did you learn from this game, Albion fans?

Let us know your thoughts, external

David Lockwood
BBC Sport Editorial Sustainability Lead

Image source, Getty Images

Los Angeles or Chesterfield? San Diego or Salford?

The pre-season destinations of 20 Premier League clubs may be varied, but the issue remains the same - the impact of so many flights.

Half (10) of the clubs have flown to the United States for friendlies; three have travelled to the Far East and the rest are in Europe and the UK.

Manchester United's pre-season schedule see them flying almost 13,000 miles playing fixtures in Norway, Scotland, and across the US. Chelsea and Tottenham are also expected to fly in excess of 12,000 miles.

In contrast, Everton will fly the least, with just one fixture outside the UK in the Republic of Ireland.

Spurs and Newcastle also played an exhibition fixture in May - three days after the season finished - for which they both flew to Melbourne, Australia, a game Alan Shearer described as “madness”. Add in those air miles and both teams will have travelled in excess of 30,000 air miles in the close-season, equivalent to more than once around the globe, to play in non-competitive matches.

Newcastle and Spurs both have a target to be Net Zero by 2030, while Manchester United and Chelsea are in process of establishing an emissions reduction plan.

Net Zero requires the reduction and removal of all 'non-essential emissions' - so are these games essential?

Wycombe's David Wheeler is a leading sustainability campaigner in football and told BBC Sport: "These games are only necessary in the sense that the clubs want to make more money and grow their fan base".

He added: "The vast majority of players don't want to be away from their families, they don't want to be travelling around the world after a full slog of a season. They're overworked and injuries have gone through the roof, so there is a synergy between player welfare and planetary welfare."

An estimated travelling group of 30 flying 12,864 air miles business class generates around 200 tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent of 500,000 miles driven by an average petrol car, or the entire annual emissions for a year of 16 people in the UK.

Tottenham said it is "committed to minimising its environmental impact" in all its operations, "which will take time and effort". The club says it "ensures" all teams travel "as sustainably as possible throughout the season". It "measures, manages and reports on travel emissions" and will offsets "where possible."

Read more about the Premier League's pre-season air miles here

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Brighton and Hove Albion

At Fabian Hurzeler's unveiling as Brighton manager last month, technical director David Weir spoke about the club's pre-season trip to Japan and how it was a chance to grow the club's brand.

The venue is no coincidence given Kaoru Mitoma's popularity in the country.

The sight of Tokyo-based Brighton fans decked out in club colours is evidence of how far the club has come since the dark days of two decades ago, when it appeared it might go out of existence.

Brighton have an open training session tomorrow with 3,000 tickets sold.

They conclude their trip with a clash against J League side Tokyo Verdy on Sunday.

Image source, Brighton and Hove Albion

With Billy Gilmour's future up in the air and Yasin Ayari yet to make his name in the Brighton squad, we asked what you would do with the two midfielders.

Here are some of your comments:

Kevin: Billy Gilmour must stay. He gets man of the match most weeks and makes the midfield tick. The £8m offer from Napoli is derisory. It is nowhere near his true value.

Richard: Loan Ayari out to West Brom, Hull, etc.

Simon: Whatever happens don't sell Billy Gilmour!

Phil: We should keep Gilmour. The Napoli offer was insulting and he has been an essential part of our midfield.