SUSSEX
By Laurence Elphick centre half Ben Hall from Scottish side Motherwell , though Chris Hughton may well decide that he ’ s not ready for first team duties just yet .
Those players who have reportedly been the subject of transfer bids for other Clubs , namely Palace and Burnley ( grrrr !), West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough ( grrrrr !) from the Premiership and Newcastle United from the Championship ; Lewis Dunk , Dale Stephens , Solly March and Anthony Knockaert are I ’ m pleased to say , still , Seagulls players ( touch wood ) at the time of writing .
Photograph : Paul Hazelwood Brighton and Hove Albion
By the time you reach this page , the football season will be at least four weeks old at least it will be in the Championship ! And by this stage we ’ ll also know who the early front runners will be . I recently read that Ian Holloway , the former Blackpool , Millwall and Palace manager thinks Brighton will go up automatically this season , behind Newcastle United . A big ask this year but certainly not out of the realms of possibility – for me it just depends on how the team react to last season ’ s bitter disappointment of missing out on promotion to the Premiership on goal difference ! If the first handful of games are anything to go by , the players have very quickly put this behind them after their very creditable opening day 0-0 draw at Derby , followed by a 4-0 win over Colchester in the EFL Cup , and then consecutive 3-0 wins at home to Nottingham Forest in front of the Sky cameras , and Rotherham United . A 2-2 draw away at Reading meant that after 4 games the Seagulls were in 2nd place behind surprise early leaders , Huddersfield Town .
The headlines from Albion ’ s summer transfer activity had been dictated in equal measure by those players that remained , as much as those that had arrived . Yours truly was delighted that former striker Glenn Murray had seen the light and returned on a season long loan from Bournemouth , and ditto Midfielder Steve Sidwell ( from Stoke City ). The other notable early pre season signing being
In the last feature of Sussex Sport , I suggested the Seagulls needed four or five new players . I ’ m delighted therefore that midfielder and Northern Ireland International , Oliver Norwood has been recruited . The former Reading and Huddersfield Town player came through the youth set up at Manchester United and also appeared at Euro 2016 . Norwood will add strength to the midfield area and describes himself as a player who likes to get on the ball , pass it and make things happen , as well as getting assists and chipping in with a few goals . It was widely reported as well that the Seagulls were on the verge of completing a record £ 8 million deal for attacking midfielder , Alex Pritchard from Spurs , only to be usurped by a better offer from Norwich City at the last minute , just as he was planning to drive to Lancing for a medical ! Say what you like about this , but that ’ s the world of football and you can ’ t blame the player ; after all he ’ s got to look after his own interests and if he ’ s going to earn more money for basically doing the same job somewhere else ..!?
Going the other way , Jake Forster- Caskey has moved to Rotherham United on a season long loan and Andrew Crofts has joined Charlton Athletic while Defender Inigo Calderon and long serving Captain Gordon Greer who ’ s now signed a 1 year contract at his former club , Blackburn Rovers and perhaps not surprisingly , veteran striker Bobby Zamora and defender Adam Chicksen were also released at the end of last season .
I ’ m delighted that Spanish defender Bruno Saltor has been given the captain ’ s armband after the fantastic season he had last year , thoroughly deserved . With the transfer window shutting at the end of August , there ’ s still a few comings and goings waiting to happen I ’ m sure , and a few surprises to boot - we just need to keep the core of the team but whatever happens , I can ’ t wait . This
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