Jose Izquierdo
Photo: EPL courtesy of Getty Images
The return of Jose Izquierdo is set to be a huge boost for Brighton, and add an extra dynamic to the options at Chris Hughton’s disposal.
The Colombian winger has been out since he returned from the World Cup with a knee injury, but is right at the end of his road to recovery. The £13.5m man impressed last season with his blistering pace and ability to find the net in spectacular fashion.
Brighton have had a steady start to the season, with both Murrat and Knockaert impressing so far. But the third cog in that attack, Solly March, has failed to have the same kind if impact. March has an incredible work ethic and is a nuisance to defenders, but does not have the end product to compliment that.
So the return of Izquierdo will please both the Brighton fans and management team alike. The former Brugge man hit five goals for Brighton last season, both his and the clubs first year in the Premier League. He will be hoping to come back from this injury setback stronger than ever to improve on that tally and push Brighton further up the Premier League table.
His integration into the squad may take some time though, knee injuries are notorious for flaming back up if too much is attempted too soon. With Pascal Gross also out injured, Hughton will be hoping he can manage the players’ well-being to ensure they do not get dragged into a relegation scrap this season.
Brighton have shown fight this season, coming back from two goals down twice this season to earn themselves a point. First, they went 2-0 down at home to newboys Fulham before hitting back to draw. Most recently achieving this feat against fellow South Coast side Southampton, scoring a last minute penalty via Glenn Murray to earn themselves a valuable point against another relegation rival.
Murray already has four goals this season, so is well on course to equal, even better his Premier League tally of 12 last season.
Brighton’s next outing is against Manchester City, who come off the back of a 5-0 win over newly promoted Cardiff City. But thereafter Hughton will be looking to gain some valuable points against direct rivals within the league, with the next five fixtures being;
West Ham (H)
Newcastle (A)
Wolves (H)
Everton (A)
Cardiff (A)
Away form has been a huge issue for Brighton since they came to the Premier League, so having a full, firing squad at their disposal will be key in their quest for 40 points this season, as will the ability to score goals, and the return of a player with such quality as Izquierdo will be a huge boost to their chances of succeeding.
