Brighton: Premier League New-Boys Sign Valencia ‘Keeper Mathew Ryan For ‘Club Record Fee’

Alan Duffy

17th, June 2017

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Ahead of their debut season in the Premier League, Brighton & Hove Albion have snapped up Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan from La Liga side Valencia on a five-year-deal.

While the fee itself has yet to be disclosed, the Seagulls have confirmed that it’s a club-record figure for the 25-year-old ‘keeper.

After moving from Clube Brugge to Valencia in 2015, Ryan struggled to establish himself in La Liga, making only 10 league appearances before being shipped out on loan to Belgian side Genk last season.

The arrival of Ryan, who has 32 international caps to his name, comes after first-choice ‘keeper David Stockdale turned down a new deal, with a move to Birmingham City in the offing.

On signing for the Seagulls, Australian insternational Ryan said:

I’m over the moon to have it all sorted, there are some really exciting times coming up. It’s a great club, due to their achievement in the Championship to go up to the Premier League.

One of the biggest carrots was being in the Premier League. I’m a footballer and everybody wants to challenge themselves at the highest level – and obviously with the Premier League you get that.

Brighton boss Chris Hughton added:

I’m delighted that we’ve been able to attract Mathew to the club, and he will certainly be an excellent addition to the squad in time for our first season in the Premier League.

We’re very much looking forward to working with him for the season ahead.

Before joining up with his new top-flight team-mates, Ryan will line out for Australia in the Confederations Cup.

As for Brighton, they’ll surely need a lot more quality new recruits if they are stay in the Premier League more than just one season.

Posted in Brighton & Hove Albion, Transfers & Rumours

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  1. Bruno says:

    When your record signing is a goalkeeper (*australian*), well…
    I think they’ll be relegated by october.

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