Brighton and Hove Albion narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League last season, due to a final game defeat followed by a failed play-off campaign.

Seagulls boss Chris Hughton worked hard in the summer to improve his squad even further by recruiting players who he judged as good enough to push Albion to promotion.

Money was spent as proven Championship midfielder Oliver Norwood arrived from Reading and also Shane Duffy from Blackburn, who cost just under £5 million.

The seaside club have made a great start to the season - they are currently sitting pretty in second place and have proved extremely hard to take points from so far this season.

The overall team has been very impressive this season but here, FootballLeagueWorld writer Tom Rawcliffe identifies THREE players who have been pivotal to Brighton's fantastic start...

Glenn Murray

Chris Hughton made the decision in the summer that they had to strengthen up top if they were to gain promotion, so he looked no further than former Albion striker Glenn Murray, who arrived on loan from AFC Bournemouth.

The 33-year-old has taken the league by storm so far, and currently sits joint second on the Championship goal-scoring chart alongside Bristol City's Tammy Abraham.

His nine goals in the league forms just under half of the side's goals, showing just what a crucial part he plays going forward for the Seagulls.

If he can keep his goal-scoring form up, then Brighton could very well be in with a good shot at promotion this time around.

Anthony Knockaert

It's arguable that you can put this lad in any team and he would succeed, but it has really come off for him at Brighton as he has hit incredible form during his time there.

After a successful half-a-season at the AMEX last time around, he has built on his performances, contributing an impressive six goals from out wide, which is already more than his total from the last campaign.

Knockaert also brings a lot of creativity into the side and he has the ability to light up any match on his day.

Lewis Dunk

To have a successful team, you must have a solid defence and, at Brighton, they certainly do.

The Seagulls have already accumulated an extremely respectable 11 clean sheets in their 16 games, and centre-back Lewis Dunk has played a big part in that.

He has featured in all but one game this season, and has helped them to ten of their clean sheets.

Dunk has also performed the second most amount of interceptions per game in the Championship with a 4.1 average, showing his solidity at the back.

If Dunk and his fellow defenders can maintain their tight defence and players such as Murray and Knockaert can keep putting the ball in the back of the net, then Brighton can achieve big things this year.

Brighton fans... do you agree that these three players have been crucial to your success? Which other players do you think also deserve a mention? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!