A direct alternative to Super Eagles’ defender, Leon Aderemi Balogun might have surfaced at Brighton & Hove Albion of England, as Nigerian-born youngster, Ayo Tanimowo has been cited as a very promising lad for The Seagulls’ near future, megasportsarena.com gathered.
Balogun has already moved on to Glasgow Rangers of Scotland, after first playing on loan from Brighton to Wigan Athletic in the English Championship and he then got a short-term full transfer to help him end the season with The Latics, but the vacuum he left behind at the first club he played for in England is bound to be filled by a younger Nigerian player.
Brighton fans, though, would hope for a better run with their club from Tanimowo, as Balogun failed to seal a regular spot in their starting line-up and was plagued by several injury problems before he rushed out to Wigan in January; such that The Seagulls’ faithful will pray for a merrier case of like-for-like stepping out in the heart of the English Premier League club’s back-line.
Fortunately for them, Tanimowo is already stepping out highly-rated, with several rave reviews trailing his recent contract signing ceremony with fellow-Brighton youngster, Sam Packham, as they both pen to paper on one-year professional deals, each with options for a further year.
Incidentally, Tanimowo, who, like Balogun, can play at right-back or central defence, joined The Seagulls from Norwich City in 2018 as a scholar and made 16 appearances for the under-18 side last season, during which he impressed in their run to the fifth round of the FA Youth Cup; while Packham, who has been with the club since he was eight years old, was also part of the surge.
Brighton’s U18s’ boss, Mark Beard said: “They’ve both done very well for the under-18s for the past two seasons. Sam can pretty much play in any position, anywhere across the backline or in midfield. He’s got a very good footballing brain, he’s athletic and has a very good engine on him.
“Ayo has played most of the season at right-back. Ayo is pretty similar to Sam, he’s got a good engine, but he’s absolutely frighteningly quick and he’s a very attacking player – he’s good in one-v-one attacking positions.”
