Brighton And Hove Albion are proving to be relentless fighters for Paddy McNair’s contract as they prepare a whopping £5m bid for the Sunderland man. This will be their third attempt at the 23-year-old midfielder after Black Cats owner, Stewart Donald earlier rejected their £3.5m offer. Chris Hughton is adamant about getting the player ahead of the 2018/19 campaign while the League One outfit plots on recouping the amount they paid for McNair.
The Ballyclare-born player moved to the Stadium Of Light in the summer of 2016 for a £5.5m transfer fee from Manchester United. The central midfielder forced the move out of Old Trafford by disobeying Jose Mourinho’s words.
At the time, the move looked like a favourable gamble which could pull of massive dividends in the future. The only chunk of senior involvement McNair had with United was under Louis Van Gaal and that too as a defender.
The Northern Ireland international himself admits that he is not the best personnel for the backline. His best talents are better suited to the more offensive roles and in creating his team’s attack. Mourinho wanted to send the player out on loan instead of a permanent switch but McNair disagreed.
Unfortunately for the youngster, two relegations for a club paints a very dull picture for its players. Dropping all the way from the Premier League to the League One within just 2 seasons is set to make life miserable at Wearside.
The time is now for the ex-United man to reconsider his approach towards his footballing career. He contributed with 5 goals in his 19 appearances for the Rokerites last term.
An injury to the knee kept him out of action for some time but Chris Coleman still featured him in the late stages. Now with the former Wales manager gone and the club competing at a much lower level of English football, the prospects of Brighton does not seem too bad.
McNair took a risk leaving the 13-time Premier League champions, which unfortunately took the wrong turn at the final exit. Now he has the chance to reshuffle things and get back to top-flight status.
Brighton have flourished in their first season back in the Premier League. They finished in the 15th spot of the league with 7 points clear of the relegation scraps. Now the team needs to sign the right talent if they intend to stay in the English top-flight longer. McNair is well aware of the demands of Premier League football after spending 5 years with Manchester United.
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Finally, McNair will be an able rotational option alongside the likes of Davy Propper and Pascal Gross in midfield and a replacement for the departing Steve Sidwell.
