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Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler has been keeping tabs on Pascal Gross ahead of the Germany international’s impending return to the club.

Hurzeler took charge of Brighton in June 2024, a few weeks before Gross joined boyhood club Borussia Dortmund. The Athletic reported on December 31 that Brighton have agreed a deal to re-sign Gross this month for just under €2million (£1.74m, US$2.35m), with a further €1m in potential bonuses.

“I definitely like him as a player,” Hurzeler said ahead of Saturday’s home game against Burnley.

“When he was gone I had contact with him, because he knew us. We tried to keep him here, but he wanted to follow his dream. We respected that and, of course, you continue to follow the players that have done great things with the club.

“I was personally in an exchange with him. We rate him highly.”

Gross scored 32 goals and provided 52 assists in 261 games across seven seasons prior to his return to Germany. The 34-year-old played primarily in central midfield, but he was also used at No 10, right-back, left-back and on either wing.

“He is a quality player,” Hurzeler added. “He has a big impact on scoring goals and creating chances, but it’s also important to emphasise that although he was gone we had good replacements. We missed a quality player, but in the end we were able to replace him with young players.”

Brighton hope to finalise the deal prior to successive games in Manchester away to City in the league next Wednesday and at United in the third round of the FA Cup four days later.

Yankuba Minteh is on course to be available against Burnley after a scan revealed nothing worse than a dead leg sustained by the winger in Tuesday’s 2-2 draw at West Ham.

Mats Wieffer is out for the second match in succession with a toe injury.

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 @AndyNaylorBHAFC