Last season looked so promising for Brighton and Hove Albion fans with the promise of a first ever promotion to the top flight in the Premier League era.

But it ended in cruel despair as goal difference cost them an automatic promotion spot at the hands of Middlesbrough.

The downhearted nature of that disappointment must have carried through into the play-offs as they were defeated by sixth place Sheffield Wednesday over two legs in the semi-final and consequently consigned to another year in the second tier.

However they appear to have returned more buoyant this term and currently find themselves sitting in second place in the Championship.

With four points separating them from third-placed Reading, they have set the platform for a promotion this season but they will need to keep their star players in January.

Lower mid-table Premier League teams will be eyeing up the Championship promotion hopefuls in the upcoming window and trying to nab their star players.

Here are 3 players that Crystal Palace could take from Brighton to turn their dire season around.

Dale Stephens

A big part of Brighton's success lies in the quality of their overcrowded central midfield ranks, with Dale Stephens, Beram Kayal, Steve Sidwell and Oliver Norwood all good enough to get into most sides in the league.

Dale Stephens issued a transfer request in the summer, citing the reason that he might not get another chance to play in the Premier League so he would probably be very keen on a move to Crystal Palace this January.

The tidy 26-year-old keeps things ticking over in the middle of the park and would be a welcome addition to Palace's ranks.

Lewis Dunk

Crystal Palace actually apepar to have a pretty decent centre back partnership in James Tomkins and Scott Dann but they are still leaking goals so maybe it is not as solid as it seems.

Towering 6'4'' centre half Lewis Dunk might be their answer.

The 24-year-old has played well over 100 Championship games for the Seagulls and is a consistent performer at the back, which lays a foundation for their success.

Anthony Knockaert

Anthony Knockaert is arguably one of the best players in the league when he's on song and this means that Brighton won't be able to keep him on their books for long.

The 25-year-old winger is definitely good enough for Premier League football and has more end product than Wilfried Zaha or Andros Townsend.

The tricky winger has weighed in with 6 league goals already and he would provide good service for Christian Benteke to thrive off.

 

Brighton fans - can you keep these 3 players in January? How much are they each worth? Let us know in the comments below...