When he made the move to Brighton it was clear that Richie Towell had his work cut out for him to break into the starting XI. Chris Hughton's side were top of the league and they had a regular midfield partnership that didn't look like it was going to be broken up. Talk of a late Euro 2016 push were fanciful in the extreme. He needed to force his way into the Brighton squad before thoughts could turn to international honours.
When we spoke to Andy Naylor of the Brighton Argus, it was clear that the view from the south coast of England was that Towell was someone who was being looked at with the longterm very much in mind. He'd be eligible from the 2nd of January but in reality, Brighton were looking past this season for Towell.
Fast forward a little over a month and things have changed somewhat. Towell's debut came against Hull in the FA Cup this weekend and the fact that he played 90 minutes despite not having played a competitive fixture since the FAI Cup Final suggests that the former Dundalk man may be more important over the next few months than many would have expected.
Brighton's promotion push has stalled. They're without a win in sixth and it's quite possibly the ideal moment for Towell to show what he can do. Four points off an automatic promotion push and comfortably in the play-off zone, Towell is coming into a team that could do with a pick me up. And with that in mind, the 24 year old has been introducing himself to the Seagulls' fans.
His goalscoring record for Dundalk would have understandably got those fans thinking of someone to ease the goalscoring pressure on those up front and while that's a possibility, it's not the main part of Towell's game. Speaking to the Argus, he's been explaining how he's willing to take on comparison's with Roy Keane another player who went to England with little fanfare in the beginning.
Roy Keane was probably my hero growing up. I admired the way he played, his determination. His career was incredible.
I try to produce more goals than Roy. If I could emulate his career that would be incredible. We have slightly different styles but I have completely changed my game since I was younger.
Their games are very different of course. Towell gets forward much more than Keane but that's not to say he's unwilling to get down and dirty in midfield when needs be. A sitting midfielder coming through the ranks at Celtic, Towell has developed his role but anyone who saw him in the League of Ireland will know that he's much more than a goalscorer.
There's a nasty streak there at times that some may compare to Keane. Towell for his part has someone else in mind in that regard, to the extent that his new baby daughter has even been given a rather unusual name.
The baby is called Meadow. It’s Tony Soprano’s daughter and you don’t mess with Tony Soprano.
There you go Brighton fans, a Roy Keane/Tony Soprano mentality and he can grab a few goals as well.
