Pushed to one side by Chris Hughton this season to the extent he wasn’t even registered on Brighton & Hove Albion’s 25-man Premier League squad list, Ezequiel Schelotto actively sought an exit in January.
Despite a number of clubs being interested, the Italy international had to wait until the final few days of the transfer window to get his move away from the Amex, ending up at Chievo in Serie A.
This will be his second spell with the Italian club, previously spending a season there during the 2014-15 campaign when he was still an Inter player, and he’s looking forward to it.
Placed on the bench for the 2-2 draw against Empoli at the weekend, the defender will have to wait a while longer for his debut, but he took some time to explain to the local press why he was forgotten at Brighton.
He said, relayed by Gazzetta dello Sport: “Certain choices towards more defensive elements penalised me, but I just want to start again.”
It appears Chris Hughton trusted both Bruno and Martin Montoya, on loan from Valencia, more defensively than he did Schelotto, who can also act as a wing-back or even a winger.
Either way, the 29-year-old’s contract with the Seagulls runs out in 2020, meaning next summer will be the ideal time for him to find himself a new forever home, and Brighton will be hoping this spell will Chievo will help them get some money back from their initial £2.7m investment.
