Mats Wieffer says he would prefer to be playing in midfield than at right-back for Brighton & Hove Albion.
The club’s former technical director David Weir described Wieffer as one of the best defensive midfielders in Europe when he was signed from Feyenoord for £25million in the summer of 2024.
The 26-year-old Dutchman has been converted into a right-back by head coach Fabian Hurzeler since April in the 2024-25 campaign.
“I am adapting slightly,” Wieffer told The Athletic after his 50th Brighton appearance in Saturday’s 1-0 win at Sunderland. “Some games it’s harder. The winger is really quick, so you have to adapt a little bit to that.
“I have never played there before, so it was also a surprise for me. The gaffer likes me there. He keeps on playing me there. I prefer to play midfield, but if I play in the Premier League it’s the best competition, so then I am also happy.
“I would prefer to play midfield, but it is also going well. The last four games we have won three, so it’s no time to change now in the team. I understand also that he keeps me playing there.”
Wieffer has spoken previously with Arne Slot, his former manager at Feyenoord and now manager of this Saturday’s opponents Liverpool at the Amex Stadium, about his revised role.
“I am really versatile, so I can play in multiple positions,” said Wieffer. “He said also I can come into midfield. At Feyenoord he also liked to play the full-backs a little more inside. I tried to do it, be a bit more attacking so the winger has to follow me. They don’t like that most of the time. Then most of the time I am a free player on the pitch, so that’s also what we try to do (at Brighton) a little bit. He (Slot) still thinks I’m better in midfield, but I can play there.”
Wieffer missed nine matches due to a toe injury during an absence of seven weeks from the end of December to mid-February, making his comeback in Brighton’s 3-0 defeat at Liverpool in the fourth round of the FA Cup. “It was a little bit unlucky. I got a kick on my foot and had a tear on the muscle,” he said. “It took way longer than I thought it would, but I don’t feel it any more so it’s not an issue.”
Hurzeler will choose between giving 40-year-old James Milner a second successive start against one of his former clubs or restoring Carlos Baleba at No. 6 against Liverpool. Baleba travelled to Sunderland but missed out with a minor injury. A fourth win in five matches would lift 12th-placed Brighton to within six points of Liverpool in fifth spot.