Turkey international Ferdi Kadioglu could make his debut in Brighton vs Ipswich on Saturday (3pm BST), Seagulls manager Fabian Hurzeler has said in his Premier League team news.
Versatile Kadioglu joined Albion from Turkish Super Lig club Fenerbahce for £25 million on August 27 and was not involved in their Carabao Cup win at home to Crawley Town or draw at Arsenal in the top flight.
James Milner, who limped off at Emirates Stadium, could be out for up to three weeks, while Solly March is not yet ready for contention as the winger continues his recovery from a long-term knee injury.
“He has a great character, a great attitude. He’s very, very positive.” 💙🤍
Fabian gives updates on Matt O’Riley’s recovery, Kadioglu’s involvement and international duties in his pre-Ipswich press conference. ⤵️
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 12, 2024
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Matt O’Riley injury news ‘positive’
Midfielder Mats Wieffer will also not return from injury for the first time since Brighton’s win at Everton on the opening day of the season, but full-back Joel Veltman is available and Hurzeler had an update on midfielder Matt O’Riley, who suffered a serious ankle injury against Crawley on his first appearance following his £25m arrival from Celtic.
“He’s in very good spirits,” Hurzeler said of the 23-year-old. “He has a great character, a great attitude, so immediately after the surgery he was very, very positive.
“He is around us in the training ground, he is doing his rehab already and I think he will be coming back quite fast.”
Ferdi in focus! 🔎🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/wpP0xBF1m0
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 12, 2024
Premier League table: Brighton third
Brighton have collected seven points from three league games to put themselves third in the table as one of seven unbeaten teams alongside Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest.
Twenty of their players represented their countries at senior or youth level over the international break, including a Netherlands debut for centre-back Jan Paul van Hecke and an England Under-21 bow for defender or midfielder Jack Hinshelwood.
“[It] was good because a lot of players played,” said Hurzeler, who is unbeaten in all competitions since becoming the youngest ever Premier League manager at 31 years old in June.
“They collected a lot of game time. We had a lot of good, good things in the international break. It was our chance to get some players back from injury, to get some players back integrated in our squad. You have to find the best solutions for this break. In my opinion, we used it quite well.”
Our attention turns to Saturday. 🫡 pic.twitter.com/0eMmKucJte
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 12, 2024
Brighton fixtures
“For me, it was time to reflect, to re-analyse the first few weeks,” added Hurzeler. “It is very important to reflect on yourself, what is going good so far and where we can improve. That was the first thing I did.
“The second thing was to plan the next phase and the next week because now we have a lot of games in the next period of time.
“We have a lot of home games so we want to use this chance. It was more reflection and planning. I also had one or two minutes for myself.”
Brighton host Wolves in the Carabao Cup on September 18 (7.45pm) and Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on September 22 (2pm).
