Sussex

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

Image source, Getty Images

Last season, the Premier League was arguably more competitive than it has been for years.

While the 65 points between champions Arsenal and bottom side Wolves was around the average for a 38-game season (63), a real revolution took place in mid-table.

Since the league was reduced to 20 teams in 1995-96, the gap between the top four and the bottom three – between what has often been the Champions League and the Championship – had been increasing as the seasons went by, with the 'bigger' clubs profiting from their European adventures and the extra money they earned by regularly finishing higher in the table.

But last season, the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots' of the Premier League dropped from 44 points in 2024-25 to just 26 points – the smallest distance for 23 years (since 25 points in 2002-03).

The European places were more attainable than they had been for years. Despite taking a point fewer than when they finished seventh the season before, Aston Villa clinched Champions League qualification by finishing two places higher.

While Liverpool took the 'bonus' Champions League place by finishing fifth, their points total of 60 was the lowest by a side finishing there for 19 years and would have put them ninth in 2024-25.

Bournemouth and Sunderland also took full advantage of needing fewer points than normal by qualifying for European competition for the first time ever and for over half a century respectively.

Read more on the Premier League's competitive numbers

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Crawley Town have signed midfielder Kai Jennings on a season-long loan from AFC Wimbledon.

The 20-year-old Dons academy graduate made his first-team debut as a substitute in a 5-1 FA Cup victory over Cheltenham Town in November 2023.

He has made four EFL Trophy appearances in the past two seasons, as well as four appearances in League One towards the end of 2025-2026.

Jennings scored nine goals in 27 appearances for National League Sutton United last season and has also gained experience with loan spells at Whitehawk, Walton & Hersham and Farnborough.

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton's new signings need some "time to adapt" to the team but have shown what they are capable of in pre-season, says Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen.

The Albion beat Bologna in a pre-season friendly on Saturday and kick off their season on Thursday with a Europa Conference League play-off tie against Tromso.

"The club is feeling good, the group is feeling strong," Verbruggen told BBC Radio Sussex. "Obviously with some new players and the players that left you need some time to get to know each other and adapt to each other.

"The young players who have been here will get called up a little bit more now than last season and that's very good news for them. I think they showed a good, fresh impression and for the new players, I think they did really well. They're all great characters and great players and the game [against Bologna] showed why they're capable of playing for our team.

"Vuskovic has really impressed me. He's only 19-years-old and he plays very mature. He's a great guy, everybody loves him and I think the quality he showed on the pitch is very, very high so, very positive and I look forward to spending more time with him."

Head Coach Fabian Hurzeler also spoke to BBC Radio Sussex, and confirmed Yankuba Minteh's injury will keep him out of action for a while.

"He will miss for a long period and it's definitely a problem for us because he is a key player but we will find a way to manage this," Hurzeler said. "Beside that we don't have many injury concerns, we had some unlucky injuries you can't avoid happening in a contact sport, but overall we were quite smooth for pre-season.

"We seem to be in a good place but now we have to prove it on the pitch and we will see in serious competitions where we are but overall it's positive so let's go."

Hear more from Hurzeler below or on BBC Sounds here

Listen to Verbruggen's full interview