What happened to the Iranian player that played for Premier League club, Brighton?

Alireza Jahanbakhsh is a generational talent when it comes to Iranian football. The forward burst onto the football stage with Iranian club Damash Tehran in 2010-11, making 11 appearances for the team. Jahanbakhsh’s performances caught the eyes of scouts in Europe, and soon, he was playing in the Dutch Eredivisie with NEC. 

Jahanbakhsh made a strong start to life in the Netherlands and earned a move to AZ Alkmaar in 2015. He scored 37 goals in 111 matches for AZ Alkmaar in three seasons. Jahanbakhsh’s play once again attracted scouts, only this time it was scouts from Premier League team Brighton that came to watch.

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The Iranian international signed for Brighton in July 2018 for a club-record £17.1 million fee. Brighton are well-known in the Premier League for using analytics to uncover overlooked players. The Seagulls believed Jahanbakhsh to be one of the overlooked players they could turn into a superstar. 

Jahanbakhsh could play across the front line but often operated as a right-wing. The Iranian didn’t get too many chances with Brighton. He appeared in just 61 matches in all competitions, scoring four goals and assisting just two. 

Jahanbakhsh struggled to come to terms with the stay of play in the Premier League. He tallied just 1,834 Premier League minutes. Of Jahanbakhsh’s four Brighton goals, just two were scored in the Premier League. Both goals came during the 2019-20 season. 

So, what happened to Jahanbakhsh after a nightmare three seasons at Brighton? The Iranian international joined the Dutch club Feyenoord in July 2021. Brighton sold the winger for just £900,000, as they took a massive hit in their transfer investment. 

Jahanbakhsh’s excellent previous Dutch Eredivisie form certainly influenced Feyenoord to sign the winger. The winger has played 50 times for Feyenoord since arriving at the Rotterdam club. He has 10 goals and seven assists in all competitions for Feyenoord. 

The winger’s first season with Feyenoord wasn’t great despite eight goals and four assists being tallied. Injuries hit Jahanbakhsh forcing him to miss several games. Toward the end of the campaign, Jahanbakhsh didn’t get many minutes per game. 

Feyenoord made the Europa Conference League final, losing to Roma 1-0. Jahanbakhsh played just two minutes in the cup final. Following matchday No. 3 of the group stage, Jahanbakhsh played no more than 13 minutes in a Europa Conference League match for the rest of the tournament. 

Jahanbakhsh started the 2022-23 season well at Feyenoord. The Iranian has two goals and three assists in eight matches in all competitions, as Feyenoord have played Jahanbakhsh solely as a right-wing this season. However, he only averages 31.7 minutes per game in the Eredivisie. He has played a full 90 minutes just one time this season. 

Jahanbakhsh will have a major impact on the Iranian national team in Qatar. His career is picking back up after three seasons at Brighton, making few impacts.