All the latest team and transfer news for Brighton and Hove Albion
Matt O'Riley's deadline day switch from Brighton to Marseille caught many by surprise.
O'Riley, 24, impressed in pre-season and started the first two matches of the Premier League campaign against Fulham and Everton.
Head coach Fabian Hurzeler then said he was "100 per cent" confident that O'Riley would still be with the Seagulls after the transfer window.
Not so. O'Riley was dropped for the 2-1 win against Manchester City and the next day the former Celtic midfielder was flying to the South of France to seal his move to Roberto De Zerbi's Marseille.
He had previously been linked with Everton, Juventus, Napoli, Atalanta and Roma.
The Marseille loan deal was hastily arranged in the final hours of the window but Hurzeler insists the likes of Brajan Gruda and Georginio can play the No 10 role, while Greek youngsters Stefanos Tzimas and Charalampos Kostoulas can also pitch in when they are ready.
Hurzeler: O’Riley was a tough decision
"Yeah, I would say exactly that's the reason why we could do this," said Hurzeler in his pre-Bournemouth press conference.
"All these decisions, they are club decisions and we do them together. It's not only a decision from my side or from Tony [Bloom], we have a very open exchange.
"We always try to figure out what is the best for the club, what is the best for the team, what is the best for the individual player.
"We had a big number, we had a big squad, so we had to make sure that we keep everyone happy. We have give everyone the right chance and the right possibility to be on the pitch.
"Because if they're not playing, if they're not on the pitch, if we can't give them enough attention. We can't develop them, and that's the way from this club, we need to develop these young players, because they all have the potential.
"We have to get the potential out of them, and you only get the potential out of them if you give them time, if you put a lot of effort into them.
"If the squad is too big you can't do this in a very individualised way, and that's why we had to make decisions, decisions we did together.
"They might seem to be tough, but I think they were the best for the club."
Brajan Gruda to step up
Brighton’s number one objective from the summer window was always to trim the squad. With O’Riley, Facundo Buonanotte (loan to Chelsea) and Julio Enciso (permanent to Strasbourg) all sealing moves, the first team door has opened for Gruda.
The German under-21 scored the winner against Manchester City and has been excellent of late. He’s pushing to start this Saturday against Bournemouth at the Vitality.
Hurzeler added: “He had a very good appearance against City when he came on the pitch.
“He then had two games with the under-21 from Germany. We are very pleased with his development, we try to give him more and more game time.
“If it will be a start tomorrow or not, we have to make the decision. But he will be a very important player for us in the future, no matter if he starts tomorrow or not.”
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