Brighton have had to adjust their pre-season plan after damage to the pitches in Evian-les-Bains forced a move to Austria. The club had initially planned to train there from July 23 to August 1, but helicopter landings during last month's G7 summit left the playing surfaces unusable. Saturday’s friendly against Annecy was cancelled and replaced by an in-house training match.

The Evian setback

Club staff discovered the issue when they arrived on Wednesday to prepare the camp in Evian-les-Bains, close to the Swiss border. Sources indicate a contingency plan was already in place, which is why the switch to Austria should not derail the whole trip.

The timing is awkward, but it is still only a pre-season adjustment rather than a major competitive problem. Brighton finished 8th in the Premier League last season and ended with a mixed run of results, so the club were already using this summer to tighten things up before the new campaign.

The summer rebuild is the bigger story

The more important angle is the way the trip fits into Brighton's squad refresh. Luka Vuskovic joined from Tottenham earlier in July for an initial £46m, with add-ons that could take the deal to £50m and a 20 per cent sell-on clause. He arrives after averaging 7.0 across his last five league matches at Hamburg, a decent sign for a defender still early in his career.

Pascal Struijk also came in for £20m on June 30, the last day of the financial year. His last five league matches for Leeds included ratings of 7.3 and 6.9, with a most recent league outing rated 6.5. That gives Brighton two new arrivals who can use the altered camp to settle quickly rather than wait for the season to catch up with them.

Brighton still have Strasbourg on August 1 at a different venue, then host Roma on August 8 and Bologna on August 15. Fabian Hurzeler will also have the Conference League play-off first leg on August 20 before the Premier League opener three days later against Aston Villa at the Amex Stadium.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →