Brighton & Hove Albion have confirmed they have recalled winger Elvis Manu from his loan spell with Championship rivals Huddersfield Town. The Dutchman appeared five times for the Terriers but has failed to earn a regular place in David Wagner’s starting eleven.
With the exception of Manu, Huddersfield also have five loan players on the books in their squad, meaning at least one would have to miss out each week. Therefore Seagulls boss Chris Hughton has taken the decision to end his loan spell earlier.
The 22-year-old moved to the Amex Stadium last summer, signing from Dutch giants Feyenoord. However he has found life hard to break into Hughton’s team as well. The January signing of Anthony Knockaert pushed him even further down the pecking order.
Speaking of the decision to recall Manu, Hughton felt it was a no-brainer to bring him back, rather than let him hang around the fringes of the squad at a different club,
“With his first-team options limited, it’s better for Elvis that he comes back here. He has always been a great professional in his approach to training and he also gives us an additional attacking option for the final weeks of the season.”
Wagner recently signed Rajiv van La Parra on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers, another winger, just like Manu. He felt it was also in the best interests of the player for him to return back to his parent club,
“I spoke with (Brighton Manager) Chris Hughton about Elvis and his return to Brighton is the right move for everyone.
“Now that we have been able to bring Rajiv van La Parra to the Club earlier than we believed we could, we have six loanees. I can only pick five in the match day squad, plus I’d prefer to work with the players who we know are here for the long term.”
Manu will be hoping to be involved in some part of Brighton’s weekend clash with promotion rivals Burnley at the Amex Stadium.
