Ezequiel Schelotto the man to miss out on Brighton’s 25 man squad
Ezequiel Schelotto has been revealed to be the man to miss out on being named in Brighton and Hove Albion’s 25 man squad for the first half of the 2018-19 Premier League season.
The decision could pave the way for the right back to leave the club after just one season and 23 appearances following his £2.5m capture from Inter Milan last August.
The deadline day signing of Martin Montoya from Valencia meant that the Albion had 18 senior, non-home grown professionals on their books.
Premier League rules dictate that you can only name up to 17 in your 25 man squad for the season, which meant Chris Hughton having to drop one player completely.
The situation would undoubtedly have been less complicated had Glenn Murray, Jurgen Locadia and Florin Andone not spent parts of pre-season injured. Because they did, it meant Hughton had to include Tomer Hemed in the 25 due to the lack of available forwards. Had those injuries not occurred, Hemed would almost certainly have been moved on and the squad wouldn’t be overstocked with foreign players.
The club seemed desperate to keep who had missed out under wraps. They were very evasive when asked about it at the recent Albion Fans Forum, but in reality it was always likely to be a toss up between Schelotto and Markus Suttner.
They are both effectively third choice full backs on their relative sides and no squad needs six full backs within it. Hughton had experimented with Suttner as a winger in pre-season because of his excellent delivery and it is that versatility that appears to have given him the nod over Schelotto.
There were also rumours of Hughton losing trust in the Argentinian after he followed up his terrible performance in the 3-2 defeat away at Crystal Palace with an equally terrible performance in the 4-0 defeat at Liverpool.
That would seem particularly harsh if true. The entire back four were candidates for the next Head Clown at Zippo’s circus based on that Selhurst Park performance while collectively the Albion seemed to be on the beach already in the final game of the season at Anfield, not helped by coming up against an outstanding Liverpool side who were gearing up for the Champions League Final. Jurgen Klopp’s Reds are 12/1 to go one better and lift the European Cup this season. If you’re interested in putting money on Liverpool, then consider using Betway – click here for Betway reviews.
Whether this is the end for Schelotto as an Albion player is unclear. Hemed is in all likelihood going to move to a Championship club, either on-loan now or permanently come January. That would in theory free up a spot for a non-home grown player in the squad when it is renamed at the closure of the winter transfer window, but it would seem inconceivable that we won’t sign anyone from foreign shores in January.
Schelotto could yet move to a European club, with the continents transfer window not shutting until the end of August. If he doesn’t secure a move, he will be unable to play Premier League football until at least January, which will at least give him the chance to practice skills such as walking on water, turning water into wine and feeding 5000 people with a few fish and a couple of loafs of bread for his other job as a Jesus Christ impersonator.
