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Jahanbakhsh Can Be Proud of Premier League Spell

Jahanbakhsh

Alireza Jahanbakhsh’s time at Brighton has all but come to an end and the Iranian international can be proud of his efforts in the Premier League.

Jahanbakhsh will move on to pastures new this summer, and with him will take plenty of valuable experience into his next challenge.

Injuries Hamper Final Campaign

It wasn't the ideal final season at the Amex Stadium for Jahanbakhsh, with an ankle injury and a hamstring problem seeing him miss out on a total of 14 games. Brighton, who is 9/1 in the online football betting to be relegated from the Premier League next season, saw the Iranian make a positive start to the last campaign. Jahanbakhsh scored in a 4-0 hammering of Portsmouth in the EFL Cup, before scoring less than a week later against Preston. The former Damash Tehran winger also started the 3-2 victory over a Manchester City side that went on to win the Premier League title at a canter.

Unfortunately, the hamstring and ankle injuries picked up in October and January respectively took the sails out of Jahanbakhsh’s flying start to the campaign. Other players got their opportunities under Seagulls boss Graham Potter, and Jahanbakhsh soon found himself down the pecking order on the south coast.

Jahanbakhsh With Moments of Brilliance

It was manager Chris Hughton who brought Jahanbakhsh to the Premier League in 2018, and perhaps the arrival of Potter saw the Iranian fall out of favour at the Seagulls. However, there were moments that Jahanbakhsh, while donning the blue and white of Brighton, will not soon forget.

An equalising bicycle kick goal against Chelsea in January 2020 stands out as a highlight for the former NEC and AZ Alkmaar attacker. The strike was later awarded the Premier League Goal of the Month and has been described by the man himself as the best he’s ever scored.

A Fresh Challenge: Just the Tonic

With game time set to be hard to come by for the 2021-22 Premier League season, it looks like the right time for Jahanbakhsh to move on from Brighton. A return to the Netherlands is in the offing, and the Eredivisie would be the ideal competition to step back into. Jahanbakhsh has already played for two different Dutch clubs in the past, and it’s clearly a league and a country the Iranian star is happy in. Suitors Feyenoord are in the process of rebuilding after a disappointing campaign last season, and Jahanbakhsh can expect plenty of starts at the Rotterdam outfit.

Injuries certainly did not help Jahanbakhsh’s time at Brighton, but Jahanbakhsh can leave English shores with his head held high. Having already shown flashes of brilliance in the Premier League, there might well be further opportunities in the competition down the road for the Jirandeh-born winger.

For now, though, the focus is on the next challenge, and a return to regular football will not only be good for Jahanbakhsh but the Iranian national side as well.