A return to AZ Alkmaar is not on the cards for Brighton and Hove Albion forward Alireza Jahanbakhsh this summer.
That’s according to the Dutch club’s technical director Max Huiberts, who has confirmed the Seagulls have been in contact about a potential move.
Jahanbakhsh joined Brighton in a £17.1m deal from Alkmaar last summer but endured a difficult first season at the club, failing to establish himself in Graham Potter’s plans.
He only made 12 appearances in all competitions, scoring just twice, leading to speculation that he would be moved on this summer.
Several reports have indicated that a return to the Netherlands could be on the cards, particularly to his former club.
The chances of him joining Ajax and PSV Eindhoven have already been dismissed, and now the chance of a switch to Alkmaar also appears to be off the cards, if Huiberts is to be believed.
“That was a bit more on the initiative of Brighton; they asked if he would be an option for us. But at the moment he is not an option,” Voetbal International report him saying.
That would suggest if Brighton are keen to get rid of Jahanbakhsh this summer, they may have to look elsewhere.
Huiberts has not categorically ruled out a move; indeed this may be part of his strategy to get the player for a better price with the age-old ‘treat them mean, keep them keen’ routine.
For now, though, they aren’t interested, and perhaps it will take an effort on Brighton’s part if they want to convince AZ to bring their former star back.
