Jayson Molumby seals Preston North End loan switch
Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Jayson Molumby has joined Championship side Preston North End on loan until the end of the 2020-21 season.
The Republic of Ireland international had been attracting a lot of attention during the first few days of the January transfer window. Millwall made an offer which would have smashed their transfer record in a bid to sign Molumby permanently but with the Albion not willing to sell, he instead makes a temporary switch to Deepdale.
Molumby has already gone through more in his fledgling career than a lot of players experience in a lifetime in the game. In the autumn of 2017, he suffered a knee injury which ruled him out for six months.
After passing fitness test after fitness test, he was cleared to resume full training. Within three training sessions, Molumby’s kneecap gave way, causing a dislocation which required reconstructive surgery on both the knee ligament and knee cap, ruling him out for another nine months.
Molumby bounced back from 15 months on the sideline, returning in February 2019. Just four months later and he was captaining the Republic of Ireland Under 21s to the semi finals of the Toulon tournament, being voted as the fourth best player out of over 200 footballers at the competition from powerhouses including Brazil, Portugal, France and England.
The three individuals considered better than Molumby? Brazil’s Douglas Luiz, a midfielder who Manchester City forked out £10 million for. Luiz’s teammate Lyanco, a defender who Torino paid £6 million for and who has attracted the interest of Manchester United, Juventus and Atletico Madrid among others. And Japan’s Ao Tanaka from Japan. Not bad company to be in.
Molumby then spent the 2019-20 campaign with Millwall, racking up 40 appearances and helping to spearhead the Lions’ unlikely push for a playoff spot. It is little wonder that they were wiling to break their bank to sign him.
His form at the Den was good enough to see him promoted from the Republic of Ireland’s Under 21 set up into the senior squad for this season and he has since won five full caps.
When Brighton sold Dale Stephens this summer, a door looked like it might open for Molumby to break into the first team picture as backup to Yves Bissouma in the holding midfield role.
Instead, Graham Potter has preferred to use Ben White there. Molumby has subsequently found opportunities hard to come by, making just three appearances so far with only one of those coming in the Premier League as a late substitute in the 2-1 win away at Aston Villa.
We did get to glimpse Molumby’s versatility in one of those matches when he was chosen to play out-of-position at right back in the 4-0 Carabao Cup win over Portsmouth, his first experience of the Potter roulette selection wheel.
Despite his lack of game time, he is still highly thought of at the Albion. Another half-season of regular first team football in the Championship playing for a Preston side who currently sit five points off the top six will give Jayson Molumby further experience and boost his chances of making the breakthrough at Brighton in 2021-22.
