“𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐍𝐄𝗪𝐒 — 𝐁𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐀𝐂𝐄 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐇𝐮𝐫𝐳𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐧”

Ferdi Kadioglu Makes Long-Awaited Return in Brighton’s Friendly Win Over Coventry

Brighton secured a 2-0 victory against Coventry City in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Saturday, but the standout moment was the return of Ferdi Kadioglu after a lengthy absence.

The Turkish international last played for the Seagulls in November, featuring in their 2-1 Premier League defeat to Liverpool. Shortly after, he suffered a toe injury initially deemed minor, but it worsened, ruling him out for the remainder of the season.

Kadioglu, who joined Brighton from Fenerbahce for £25 million last summer, underwent surgery and has since been working his way back to full fitness. The 25-year-old trained with the first team during their 10-day camp in Spain but did not play in the earlier friendlies against Stoke City and Las Palmas.

His comeback finally arrived on Saturday when he replaced left-back Maxim De Cuyper in the 66th minute. Goals from Yasin Ayari and Abdallah Sima sealed the win for Fabian Hürzeler’s side, who remain unbeaten in pre-season following victories over Wycombe Wanderers, Stoke, Las Palmas, and now Coventry.

Brighton have two more friendlies scheduled—against Southampton at St Mary’s on August 2 and Wolfsburg at the Amex on August 9—before their Premier League campaign kicks off at home to Fulham on August 16.

Kadioglu, along with new signings Charalampos Kostoulas, Stefanos Tzimas, and Tommy Watson, will be hoping for more minutes in the upcoming fixtures ahead of the new season.

Brighton’s Lineup vs. Coventry:
First Half XI: Steele, Wieffer, Dunk, van Hecke, De Cuyper, Ayari, Hinshelwood, Gruda, O’Riley, Mitoma, Georginio.

Substitutions:
46’ – Diego Gomez (for Mitoma), James Milner (for Ayari)
63’ – Ferdi Kadioglu (for De Cuyper), Freddie Simmonds (for Dunk), Diego Coppola (for van Hecke), Joel Veltman (for Wieffer), Malick Yalcouye (for Hinshelwood), Nehemiah Oriola (for Gruda), Jeremy Sarmiento (for O’Riley), Abdallah Sima (for Georginio), Andrew Moran (for Gomez).

For more Brighton updates: Latest on injuries and return dates for Adam Webster, Bart Verbruggen, and Solly March.