Three weeks ago most people would have speculated that Brighton were going to drop Richie Towell off at one of the Championship teams they were leaving behind, but the former Dundalk man was handed a lifeline instead and ended up signing a 2-year-extension onto his contract.
Manager Chris Hughton admitted that Towell will probably be loaned out in the meantime but their willingness to keep the attacking midfielder is a promising sign despite only featuring once for the club last season.
Towell himself this week admitted that even he was surprised to be given two more years saying that despite the club and Hughton telling him they valued him, he had his doubts.
Speaking with Daniel McDonnell on the LOI Weekly podcast, Towell told of how the contract came about:
I wasn't expecting it to be honest, when you don't play you're not expecting a new contract. My representatives were on to the club and they said 'he only has another year left he needs to have some stability, he has a family' and straight away they said yeah he deserves a new contract.
The club kept telling me that they rate me, the manager kept telling me he rates me. I kept thinking 'ya don't like' but obviously now they showed their faith in my giving me the new deal because they're not going to hand them out so easily.
McDonnell went on to ask Towell how he felt watching Dundalk's Europa League success from afar, and whether he felt he jealous of how things worked out for his former teammates Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan who were rewarded with call-ups to represent Ireland and moved to Preston North End.
Towell admitted the pair were living his dream saying that he would have "loved to have been part of it all" but was positive when speaking of Horgan and Boyle's individual successes.
I was delighted for them because they're really good friends of mine and I know how hard they work. Before Andy went to Preston he was juggling a job and playing football. I travelled up with him every day and seen the commitment he had to make so to see someone like that their rewards was incredible, I was so happy for them.
The most likely scenario for Towell is a return to The Championship on loan, and he has said he has no doubt that he can compete at that level and that he was unlucky to be fighting for a place in "the best team in The Championship".
