A one club man, central defender Dunk has risen through the ranks to become the club’s captain and he’s seen it all from cold Tuesday nights in Yeovil to battling it out with Ajax in the Europa League.
During Dunk’s time at the club, he was part of the League One promotion winning squad under Gus Poyet and was in the team of the season when Chris Hughton finally got them to the Premier League.
He has helped his team establish themselves as a Premier League side and they are now regulars in the top half of the league.
Making his debut and becoming a first team regular
Having impressed coach Gus Poyet while captaining the club’s youth team, Dunk made his debut in 2010 in a 0-0 draw against MK Dons.
He then made eight appearances in the 2010/11 season as they won promotion to the Championship as League One champions.
In the club’s first season back in the Championship, Dunk cashed in on injuries to other defenders to make 36 appearances for the Seagulls in all competitions, including a start in the club’s 2-1 win over Doncaster Rovers, which was the first game in their new stadium.
Bristol City loan and limited playing opportunities
Dunk fell out of favour during the 2012/13 season, as he only made nine appearances.
He then went out on loan to Bristol City during the following season to get some regular game time, but a knee injury cut that spell short after three appearances.
Dunk returned to Brighton after the injury and played for the club’s development team before returning to the first-team fold with a cameo off the bench in an FA Cup third round win.
He then went on to make a further 10 appearances across the season, including a start in the disappointing 4-1 play-off semi-final second leg defeat against Derby County.
Return to the first team and promotion to the Premier League
Under new manager Sami Hyypia, Dunk found himself back in the first team in a regular capacity. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2-0 League Cup win against Cheltenham Town.
He then scored his first ever brace in a 2-2 draw against Charlton Athletic, he finished the season with seven goals, making him the club’s top scorer.
Following Dunk’s good season, he was linked with a move away to the Premier League, however he signed a new five-year deal with the club to put the transfer speculation to bed.
Along with Dunk’s improvement, Brighton continued to go from strength to strength under the management of Chris Hughton, with the club narrowly missing out on automatic promotion to Middlesborough by having a worse goal difference.
The 2016/17 season brought Brighton and Dunk success, with the defender forming a good partnership with Shane Duffy and conceding a joint league best of 40 goals, which helped the team gain promotion to the Premier League for the first time.
Dunk in the Premier League
Dunk played a key part in establishing the Seagulls as a Premier League side, he played every game of the 2017/18 season and he scored his first Premier League goal in a shock 2-1 victory over Arsenal.
In the 2018/19 season, Brighton made the FA Cup semi-final and Dunk captained them on what was their first visit to the new Wembley Stadium, however they lost 1-0 to eventual champions Manchester City.
New manager Graham Potter gave Dunk the captain’s armband ahead of the 2019/20 season, later in the season he scored in another 2-1 win against Arsenal and also made his 300th appearance for the club in a 3-0 win against Manchester United.
He was later named Brighton’s player of the season, having formed a good partnership in central defence with new signing Adam Webster.
In the 2020/21, Dunk was again pivotal in keeping Brighton up and was voted players’ player of the season.
Dunk then led Brighton to their highest Premier League position in successive seasons, with their ninth placed finish in 2021/22 being bettered by their sixth placed finish in 2022/23.
Finishing sixth under the stewardship of Roberto De Zerbi meant that Dunk and Brighton are now playing European football for the first time in their history, as they qualified for the UEFA Europa League.
Dunk made his European debut in the 2-2 draw at Marseille, after missing the first game against AIK Athens due to injury.
Dunk's international career with England
Dunk was first selected by Gareth Southgate in 2018 as a replacement for James Tarkowski for UEFA Nations League games against Spain and Croatia, however he wasn’t picked to play.
He then made his debut in a 3-0 friendly win against the USA in November 2018, playing the full 90 minutes. He didn’t make another England squad until May 2023, when he was picked for the Euro qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia, however he pulled out with an injury
He made his second England appearance in a 3-1 friendly win against Scotland, he then started the 1-0 friendly win against Australia a month later.
Lewis Dunk personal life
Lewis Dunk has two children with his long term girlfriend Abi Yaxley.
His father Mark Dunk was a former non-league player in Sussex.
Lewis Dunk net worth
Dunk’s estimated net worth is £19.5million.
Reportedly his salary is £4,160,000 per year or £80,000 per week.