Brighton boss Graham Potter is set to hand Aaron Connolly and Alireza Jahanbakhsh a chance to impress in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup clash against Bristol Rovers. The Seagulls head to the Memorial Ground on the back of a 2-0 Premier League defeat to Southampton and Potter will utilise the depth within his squad as he looks to give chances to some players who have just missed out on his matchday squads this season.
Prolific young striker Connolly looks like an ideal candidate to get some first-team minutes and stake a claim for a chance in the Premier League.
The young Irishman took his Premier League 2 goals tally to three in two games with a superb curled finish in the second string’s 3-0 win at Leicester on Friday.
Brighton’s Young Player of the Year in 2018-19, Connolly also won the Premier League 2 Player of the Year after hitting 11 goals in 15 Under-23 games.
Potter confirmed Connolly would be in his squad for the match, adding that the 19-year-old has been “training well, has a certain quality – he runs in behind and he threatens the goal”.
Another player who has been on the outside looking in so far is Iran international Jahanbakhsh – Albion’s club record signing when he arrived from Dutch club AZ Alkmaar last summer.
The 26-year-old has been left out of Potter’s first three matchday squads this season, but when recently quizzed on whether Jahanbakhsh can have an impact this term, the manager replied: “Yeah, I do.”
Graham Potter insists Alireza Jahanbakhsh has a future at Brighton. “How he’s worked every day has been perfect.” #BHAFC pic.twitter.com/yp1oIAaEsK
— Persian Soccer (@PersianFutbol) August 22, 2019
Potter’s words come in the wake of reports that PSV Eindhoven are keen to take Jahanbakhsh back to the Dutch league, where he excelled before moving to the Seagulls for that record fee in 2018.
The Eredivisie outfit would love to pull off a loan deal but as of last week no talks were taking place between the two clubs.
The Iranian has struggled to find a role in Potter’s 3-4-3 system with Leandro Trossard and Neil Maupay used in the supporting forward positions behind Florin Andone on Saturday.
