For a long time, back when Leeds United were still in the Championship, reports emerged that Marcelo Bielsa’s side were interested in Baghdad Bounedjah.
The Algeria international was reportedly a striker target for the club, but a move never seemed to materialise.
Then, according to the player himself, it was Brighton & Hove Albion who came knocking on his door, as he revealed the news in a chat with GOTALK, relayed by La Gazette du Fennec.
Currently at Al Sadd in Qatar, Bounedjah has ‘won everything’ with his club, which is why his head is turned towards Europe, where he feels he has a good chance of succeeding with his attributes.
Regarding a move to these shores, he said: “I always have the ambition of going to Europe. It attracts every player. For me, I’d like to play in the Premier League. Recently, Brighton were very interested in me, but Al Sadd didn’t want to let me go. They don’t necessarily need the money, but it’s just they want to keep me”.
So, it appears the Seagulls made a move to sign the 29-year-old, who has 21 goals in 19 league appearances this season, as well as seven assists, but were met with a brick wall from Xavi’s side.
Whether or not Graham Potter will return for a second attempt remains to be seen, but it shows Brighton are after a new striker, which makes sense when you take into account their top scorers in the league are Neal Maupay and Danny Welbeck with eight and six goals respectively.