Diego Gomez Contract: Brighton Tie Down Hurzeler’s Right-Side Answer
For much of last season, a Paraguayan central midfielder tucked in off the right flank beside a converted Dutch right-back looked like one of Fabian Hurzeler’s stranger experiments. By the pre-season win over Strasbourg it looked a good deal more like a plan. Now the club have put their name to it: the new Diego Gomez contract runs for five years, with the option of a sixth, tying the 23-year-old to the Albion deep into the decade.
No club-record fee, no unveiling video. But this is exactly the kind of business Brighton have built their reputation on — find a young player who fits the system, then settle the argument about his future before anyone else can start one. Gomez is tied to the Seagulls for a spell that would carry him towards his 30th birthday.
What the Diego Gomez contract secures
The midfielder has signed a five-year deal with an option for a further year, as reported by The Argus. The club have described the Paraguay international as a great fit for the Premier League and believe there is a lot more to come from him. Sporting director Mike Cave was in no doubt about his value.
Diego has been an important player for us since his arrival and we’re pleased to have secured his long-term future. He has adapted to Premier League football seamlessly and embedded himself as a key player in the squad.
Cave added that he believes Gomez “will continue to develop this season and be an important player for us in achieving our goals this season and beyond”. The No 25 has 20 senior caps for Paraguay and spent much of the summer at his first World Cup — a tournament his country will co-host when the centenary edition comes round in 2030. At 23, there is as much runway ahead of him with Paraguay as there is at the Amex.
The Wieffer partnership Hurzeler has built
The intriguing part is where Gomez is being asked to do it. He and Mats Wieffer both went to the World Cup, both came through as central midfielders, and both look set to start the campaign sharing the right-hand side — Wieffer in Hurzeler’s own reading of the full-back role, Gomez wide of centre without ever really being a winger. On paper it should not fit as neatly as it has. It did against Strasbourg, and it has held up since.
Gomez told The Argus the understanding between them comes down to graft rather than any tactical secret.
More lately, we have been playing there together and we understand each other very well. Obviously there are lots of things to improve but it’s a pleasure me to have Mats there.
He runs a lot. He has an incredible energy. I also try to help him a bit defensively.
A settled flank for a crowded start
That matters more than usual this month. Brighton close their pre-season against Bologna at the Amex on Saturday before a Conference League play-off that sits either side of a home Premier League opener against Aston Villa. Three weeks that will tell Hurzeler plenty, a squad thick with new and young faces, and a fixture list that will not wait for anyone to settle in.
Gomez sounded unbothered by it. “We are getting to know each other. This season there are lots of new players and young players,” he said. “We are feeling really good. We had a very good week in Austria.” Whatever else Hurzeler has to solve before the Villa game, the right side of his team is no longer one of the questions — and the man holding it together has just agreed to stay for the next five years.
