News emerged today that Brighton have signed Cameroon international left-back Gaetan Bong on a free transfer after his release, in May, by Wigan Athletic. The 27-year old Cameroonian, who has played top-tier football predominantly in France – 110 games with Ligue 1 side Valenciennes), has signed a two-year contract with the Seagulls.
Brighton manager Chris Hughton said of Bong’s capture,
“Gaetan is a player that we were aware of while he was at Olympiakos in Greece. He is very athletic, he is a natural left-sided player and it is important to have that balance in the squad.” [quoted in BBC Sport article]
In his 14 games for Wigan last term, Bong proved to be a hit and a strong and dependable tackler making 33 of the 39 tackles he attempted (85% success) and at the rate of 2.4 tackles per typical 90 minutes. He is also a keen player who can break up opponent play, as evidenced by his high number of 3.4 interceptions per typical 90 minutes of play. Add these figures to his 1.7 defensive blocks per 90 minutes and his 2.8 defensive clearances and you have a dependable player making, on average, 10.3 defensive actions over the course of a typical 90 minutes of action.
Stats derived from WhoScored.com
