Brighton man hailed “the best” player has worked with – Convinced after “a few training sessions”

Brighton & Hove Albion striker Deniz Undav has been hailed by former teammate Mathias Fixelles, who played alongside him at Union SG.

The midfielder has been speaking to RTBF in Belgium about various aspects of his career so far, including his spell at Union.

He played for the club between 2016 and 2021, initially joining them on a free transfer from KVW Zaventem before leaving for KV Kortrijk on a free two years ago.

Undav made 130 appearances for the club during his time there, which also saw him working alongside Undav.

He joined the club on a free transfer from SV Meppen in 2020 and went on to establish himself as the star of the show in the next two years, bagging 45 goals and 18 assists in 70 games for them before eventually moving to sister club Brighton in a €7m deal in the summer.

He’s struggled to replicate his form from Belgium in the Premier League, but Fixelles insists that the Brighton man has it all, having been won over early on during their time at Union.

“There’s a lot of talent in the lower divisions, the example of the Union is there to prove it because the team has changed little for 2-3 years,” he said.

“Deniz Undav, the best striker I have met in my career, show it today in the Premier League. 

“When Undav arrived the first day at the Union, we were in team building at Spa, we wondered if he was really the phenomenon that we were being told… He was small and slow… After a few training sessions, we had understood.”