Brighton and Hove Albion goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen has hit back at claims last season was “a wasted” one for him.
De Telegraaf cover comments from the Brighton goalkeeper today from a pre-match press conference for the Netherlands.
Verbruggen currently finds himself as the number one for his country and Brighton after a year of battling for both positions.
He arrived at Brighton in a €20m move from RSC Anderlecht in July 2023 but was not immediately handed a starting role by Roberto de Zerbi, who rotated him alongside Jason Steele throughout the campaign.
It was a similar story with the Netherlands, where Ronald Koeman was unable to decide between the Brighton goalkeeper and Brentford Mark Flekken when it came to finding a replacement for Justin Bijlow.
He eventually settled on Verbruggen, and he has been his number one ever since, while De Zerbi’s replacement, Fabian Hürzeler, has backed the 22-year-old from day one in charge of the Seagulls.
That could have led to frustration for Verbruggen, but he insists that he does not see the last year as a wasted one.
“Prior to this season, it was not specifically agreed that I would play everything, but the new coach simply appointed me as number one,” he said.
“I play the competition matches. The trainer we had last year indicated that we would rotate in all competitions. Does that make it a wasted season? No, absolutely not. I still played a lot.”
