Brighton’s rise up the football pyramid has rightly been the subject of much praise of late. The Seagulls were a fourth tier side in 2001, in League One as recently as 2011, and earned promotion to the Premier League in 2017.

Their first four Premier League seasons saw them finish between 15th and 17th, but they finally breached the top 10 under Graham Potter in 2021-22, and then followed it up by finishing sixth in 2022-23 under Roberto De Zerbi. Now, European football beckons for the very first time in the Seagulls’ history as they embark on a dream Europa League group to enjoy trips to Amsterdam, Marseille and Athens.

Just three players have featured in all seven of their Premier League campaigns from 2017-18 to today: Lewis Dunk, Solly March, and Pascal Groß. Dunk has become a pass master from central defence under De Zerbi, March has suddenly found an uncanny knack for putting the ball into the back of the net, but the latter of the trio hasn’t had quite the fanfare of so many Brighton stars both past and present of recent years.

Perhaps his age has counted against him for earning a big-money move elsewhere, as so many Brighton players have in the past few years, but at 32, Groß has just earned his first ever senior appearance for Germany. It’s been long overdue.

Like so many of Brighton’s squad nowadays, Groß arrived at the club from humble beginnings – he had just 70 top-flight appearances to his name when he signed for the club in 2017, having spent much of his career in Germany’s lower divisions. But it may surprise many of you to know that since his first Premier League season in 2017-18, only one player can claim to have created more goalscoring chances for teammates in the competition than Groß, and that’s a certain Kevin De Bruyne.

There’s Groß, unassumingly above the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mo Salah, and Son Heung-min. And he’s not slowing down either. In fact, he tops the rankings for chances created among all players in Europe’s big-five leagues this season.

Groß has evolved with this Brighton side. From a team that averaged less than 43% possession and around 386 passes-per-game in their first Premier League season in 2017-18, to one that is averaging over 64% possession and 618 passes-per-game this term, Groß has not only remained a constant presence, but his importance has grown. Last season he started 37 of their 38 league matches, more than any of his teammates.

Since the start of last season, Groß has been asked to play a whole host of different roles. While around half of his minutes in this time have been as a defensive midfielder, the German has also played 21% as a right back, 8% from right wing, 6% as a striker, 2% at left wing and another 2% at left back. A quick stint at centre half and he’ll have completed the set.

But his versatility has not hindered his productivity. On top of the chance creation numbers you saw earlier, Groß ranks second in the Premier League this season for how many open play sequences he has been involved in that have resulted in his team having a shot (35), behind only Rodri (40), the division’s undisputed holding midfield king right now. That’s how crucial Groß is to Brighton’s all-round game, regardless of the position he plays.

Groß may not have made a high-profile move from Brighton as the likes of Marc Cucurella, Moisés Caicedo, and Alexis Mac Allister have in recent years, or be tipped among their next wave of stars such as Evan Ferguson, Kaoru Mitoma or Julio Enciso, but make no mistake, the German has been as crucial as anyone to Brighton’s improvement in recent seasons.