Brighton and Hove Albion youngster Simon Adingra has admitted he “couldn’t believe” it when the Seagulls came calling for him.
Adingra joined Brighton in an €8m deal from Nordsjaelland but is yet to make his debut for the club, instead spending this season on loan at sister club Union SG in Belgium.
He has been impressing there, to say the least, with a tally of seven goals and five assists in 22 games in the league this season, three goals and two assists in three games in the Beker van Belgie and two assists in six in the Europa League.
The campaign is proving to be a real step forward for the 21-year-old, whose path to Europe has not been an easy one.
He started his career playing in the streets of his homeland before, aged 12, him and his family were scammed by a football ‘coach’ who convinced them to move to Benin and join his academy for €300.
He and a group of ten kids moved to the country but soon realised everything was fake, leaving them without anything and forced to do odd jobs in restaurants to earn €10 and food for two years.
Coincidence meant they were rescued by a fellow Ivorian who set up a small academy that led him to be signed by the Right to Dream academy. They are twinned with FC Nordsjaelland and by 18 he was in Denmark, eventually earning Brighton’s attention last year.
“Because it was my dream to play in the Premier League. I didn’t think I could get there so quickly. I basically thought that going through Belgium or Germany would have been a good step in my career first.”
He was quickly shipped out to Belgium so he could play regularly and aid his development, something Brighton have done with several players in recent years.
The likes of Moises Caicedo and Kaoru Mitoma have both spent time in the country before returning to England to shine in Brighton’s first team in the Premier League.
That is something Adingra is aware of and wants to replicate, although he doesn’t know what the future holds.
“I thought it was a good thing for my progress, for my development,” he added.
“I had never heard of this club. But I inquired and I saw his career last season… When I arrived, I heard about Mitoma the fact that he had a very good season. But we cannot specifically say that we had the same journey.
“I’m still not completely satisfied with myself. I’m on the right track, of course. But I still have a lot to do. I would like to be even more decisive and have even more impact for my team.
“Before I arrived, the plan was to return to Brighton next season. But in football, you never know. We will see at the end of the season what the leaders will decide. But me, in any case, I like the Union.”
