Albion move was the '˜number one option' for Brown

Izzy Brown says joining Albion was always the number one option for him this summer as he prepares for the biggest season of his career.
Izzy Brown in action at Southend on Tuesday. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)Izzy Brown in action at Southend on Tuesday. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)
Izzy Brown in action at Southend on Tuesday. Picture by Phil Westlake (PW Sporting Photography)

The 20-year-old signed on loan from Premier League champions Chelsea earlier this week, after helping Huddersfield gain promotion through the Championship play-offs last season.

The Terriers were interested in signing Brown on a permanent basis this summer but he felt a temporary move to the Seagulls was the best career move.

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Brown has played twice in the Premier League, as a late substitute aged 16 for West Brom in 2013 and then the final 11 minutes for Chelsea in 2015.

After loan spells to Vitesse in Holland, then Rotherham and Huddersfield last season, Brown says it will be a dream to play in the Premier League again: “It’s the biggest season in my career. For a 20-year-old to play in the Premier League is not seen too much. There’s not many young players who are playing week-in, week-out in the Premier League. I want to take this chance and grab it with both hands.

“It’s a very important season for everyone. We know we want to stay in the Premier League and that’s the main aim. I want to help as much as I can. For me personally, this is the biggest season of my life, playing in the biggest league in the world. It’s a dream, I can’t wait for it.”

Brown believes he can play for Chelsea in the future so was against leaving on a permanent basis this summer and signed a new four-year deal before joining the Seagulls on loan.

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Speaking about the interest from Huddersfield and then joining Brighton, he said: “I had two years left on my contract at Chelsea and they didn’t want me to go out on loan with less than two years left. I had to sign a new contract – which I wanted to do anyway – because I believe I can play at Chelsea.

“Huddersfield came in but I didn’t know too much about it. It was all between my agent and Huddersfield, so I can’t comment too much but I know the deal wasn’t really possible because of buy-backs and things like that. It wasn’t ever really likely to happen.

“I didn’t think Huddersfield on a permanent was the best idea for me. I’m still young and I still believe I can play for Chelsea. The Brighton option was the best for me and hopefully it works out well.”

The move to Albion was one that always appealed to Brown, although the Seagulls had to fight off interest from other clubs to get the deal done.

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He said: “From minute one, it was Brighton but in the last week there were a lot of clubs calling my agent. However, I always thought Brighton was the number one option for me.”

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