Gaetan Bong signs new one-year deal with Brighton
In news that is quite likely to make a lot of people very angry, Brighton and Hove Albion have agreed a new one-year contract extension with Gaetan Bong.
The left back’s current deal was due to expire this summer, but he is clearly a valued member of the squad as Chris Hughton has decided to keep him on for what will be a fifth season with the Albion.
He moved to the Amex on a free transfer in the summer of 2015 and has since racked up 92 appearances for the club.
Given how little we paid for him and the distinction with which he has served the Seagulls, he’s actually been one of the best value for money signings of the Hughton era.
Despite that, Bong has, along with Dale Stephens, become the boo boys figure of hate so far this season. His new deal is sure to perplex plenty of those who blame him for every little thing that goes wrong whenever he is on the pitch, even though he has been involved in more Premier League clean sheets (four) than Bernardo this season (three).
Whilst there is no doubting that Bernardo is the better player, Bong provides solid backup for the Brazilian, who has after all suffered with a few injuries in his first campaign in England.
As a result of those fitness problems and a pretty catastrophic debut on the opening day away at Watford, Bong has turned out 23 times for the Albion this season to go with the 24 appearances he made in 2017-18 after seeing off the challenge of Markus Suttner for the left back shirt.
Bong made 40 appearances during his first two seasons with the club in the Championship, bouncing back from a ruptured thigh which kept him out for three months of his debut 2015-16 campaign and two months spent on the sidelines with a knee problem between January and March 2017.
He’s also had to battle through being allegedly racially abused by Jay Rodriguez during the Albion’s 2-0 defeat away at West Bromwich Albion last season.
The FA subsequently said there was a lack of evidence to charge Rodriguez and Bong has been subjected to further abuse as a result by opposition supporters away at Burnley and back at the Hawthorns in the FA Cup in February.
The fact he’s shrugged all that off tells you all you need to know about Bong. Other reasons to like him are his dreadlocks, the wonderfully stylish glasses he wears, his regular visits to the Pizza Hut takeaway in Haywards Heath and the fact he is named after a drug taking device.
Sorting Bong’s contract now make sense as he potentially has a busy summer ahead of him should he make the Cameroon squad for the African Cup of Nations.
Bong come out of international retirement last year to help the Indomitable Lions qualify for the tournament. He played in matches against Comoros and Morocco before captaining his nation in a friendly against Brazil, where we were treated to the ridiculous sight of him being hugged by Neymar during the coin toss.
