With Brighton having made nine summer signings in the transfer window so far, some players at the club may not feature in Chris Hughton’s plans or be so low down in the pecking order they need to leave in order to get first team football. Below, are the three players I think will be surprised if they are not loaned out or sold.
Jiri Skalak:
The Czech winger joined The Seagulls on 1st February 2016. He made 14 appearances for Brighton in the 2015/16 season scoring two goals, one of which won him Brighton’s goal of the season with a rocket volley from 30 yards in a 4-0 win at home to Queens Park Rangers.
Last season saw Skalak make 25 appearances but failed to find the net. The winger has fallen down the pecking order after the arrival of Izzy Brown on loan from Chelsea.
The 25-year-old winger has also struggled to get into the Czech Republic’s national team. With the likes of Anthony Knockaert, Solly March, Jamie Murphy and Brown ahead of him in the pecking order, it seems that if Skalak wants regular football he will have to leave The Albion to find it.
Kazenga Lua Lua:
Lua Lua first joined Brighton in 2010 on loan from Premier League side Newcastle United. He made 11 appearances in the 2009-10 season but failed to find the back of the net. In August 2010 he rejoined The Seagulls on loan for a further four months and made an impact in his first appearance back on the 11th September 2010 when he scored a 25-yard free kick at home to Bournemouth.
The following month Lua Lua suffered a broken leg against Hartlepool United and failed to make another appearance for Brighton that season. In total in the 2010-11 season, he made 11 appearances scoring four goals. The 2011-12 season saw the Congolese winger again join The Albion on a six-month loan with a view to a permanent deal.
In that season he made nine appearances scoring no goals before making his move permanent that season with Brighton and since signing in 2011 has scored 11 goals in 111 appearances. Over the years, injuries have hampered Lua Lua and he has struggled to find the form he showed when he first joined the club. Last season he only made three appearances before being loaned out to QPR for the second half of the season.
Similarly to Skalak, Lua Lua has fallen down the pecking order and if he wants to get first team football he would have to leave Brighton.
Rohan Ince:
The 24-year-old joined Brighton in 2013, on an 18-month development contract, after a successful trial period at the club. He made his league debut in a 2-1 defeat to Derby County in August 2013. Since joining Brighton he has made 72 appearances, scoring one goal.
Over the last couple of seasons, Ince has failed to get into the first team and was loaned out to Fulham for the second half of the 2015-16 season, where he made ten appearances and scored one goal. Last season he was loaned out to Swindon for the second half of the season, where he made 14 appearances and scored two goals.
With Dale Stephens, Beram Kayal, Davy Propper and Steven Sidwell ahead of him in the pecking order, it seems first team football will be hard to come by for the young midfielder and he may have to go elsewhere to find first team football.
