Richie Towell's move to Brighton & Hove Albion was confirmed at dawn yesterday morning.
An exciting development for the League of Ireland's finest footballer of 2015 but also a daunting challenge. He now has to break into a Brighton team that are unbeaten all season and sit on top of the Championship table.
Andy Naylor of the Brighton Argus gave us the local view on Towell's signing and his chances of breaking into Chris Hughton's high-flying side.
He doesn't believe it's probable that Towell will break up the current midfield partnership of Baram Kayal and Dale Stevens which he considers the strongest in the Championship. At least not in the short term.
Rather, he sees Towell as a medium to long term prospect for the club and also raised the possibility that he could slot in behind the front man in a 4-4-1-1 formation.
They are very strong in terms of the two central midfielders. They are arguably the best partnership in the Championship... The thing with Richie is they're not just looking necessarily in the short term. They're looking beyond that as well.
Is there any buzz around Towell's signing in Brighton?
Without being disrespectful I wouldn't describe it as a big signing in the context of what Brighton have become. If you'd gone back a few seasons, it would have been a massive signing. But the club have made so much progress in such a short space of time. Ever since the days the days they were playing in Whitdean Stadium, a converted athletic stadium in League 1 & 2. But that's not to downplay what Richie has to offer. Clearly, he is someone who not just Brighton think has got something to offer but a fair few other clubs as well.
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