Sunday 24 September 2017 15:11, UK
We take a look at the impact of Pascal Gross ahead of Brighton's Nissan Super Sunday clash with Newcastle at the Amex Stadium.
Brighton paid just £3m to sign the midfielder from German side Ingolstadt in the summer. After two goals and two assists in five appearances, it already looks like a shrewd piece of business.
So what exactly has Gross brought to Chris Hughton's side? We break down the strengths of a player being heralded as one of the bargain signings of the transfer window.
Gross is best known for his attacking qualities but his playing style is also characterised by non-stop running. Premier League tracking data shows he has covered an average of 12.6km per 90 minutes this season. Of players to have played a minimum of 200 minutes, only Liverpool's James Milner has been more industrious.
Gross's tireless work-rate is invaluable to a side who have only averaged 46 per cent possession this season. Their third goal in the 3-1 win over West Brom, when Gross won the ball in the opposition's half before crossing for Tomer Hemed to score, showed how it can work to their advantage.
"Yes you get the goals and the assists, but that's what you're going to get week in, week out from Pascal Gross," said Jamie Carragher on Friday Night Football. "He's just a bundle energy, the lad." Hughton has been similarly impressed. "He's someone who works very hard for the team," he said.
Gross is a playmaker as well as a hard-worker. His former club Ingolstadt suffered relegation last season, but it didn't stop Gross from creating the most chances in the Bundesliga. For context, his total of 98 was only bettered by Christian Eriksen, Kevin de Bruyne and Mesut Ozil in the Premier League. It puts him in esteemed company.
Gross is an excellent set-piece taker but he is also more than capable of conjuring chances from open play. He showed it with his recent assists against West Brom and Bournemouth, when he fired in left and right-footed crosses for Hemed and Solly March to score respectively.
The 26-year-old has his work cut out to replicate his stats from last year in the Premier League, but the early signs are certainly encouraging. Six weeks into the new campaign, he has already created more chances (11) than any of his Brighton team-mates.
Brighton supporters got their first glimpse of Gross's goalscoring ability with his impressive double against West Brom. His first goal was that of a poacher with the instinct to be in the right place at the right time, and his second showed his long-range shooting ability.
Gross only scored six times across his two seasons in the Bundesliga with Ingolstadt, but his more advanced role at Brighton gives him more opportunities to get on the end of things.
"I don't know if I am really a goalscorer, maybe I am more the type to make assists," he said recently. "But in this system, I come into situations where I can shoot or make the last pass."
Gross is comfortable in a number of different positions. He was used in a central midfield role at Ingolstadt, but he plays almost as a second striker for Brighton. As noted by Carragher on Friday Night Football, he also pops up on the flanks.
"We've seen him on the right, we've seen him on the left, we've seen him in central areas," said the Sky Sports pundit. "It looks like they've got a player there."
For Hughton, Gross's versatility was a big factor in signing him. "We signed him because of his strength as an all-round player," he said earlier this month. "He's very adaptable in midfield - we wanted to have options off the front, a number 10 as such. He gives us options in more advanced areas, and of course in central midfield."
Watch Brighton v Newcastle live on Sky Sports Premier League HD from 3.30pm on Sunday
