EPL: Why Zadok Yohanna, Femi Azeez Have Not Been Playing – Brighton Boss Hürzeler

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Fabian Hürzeler has explained why Nigerian forwards Femi Azeez and Zadok Yohanna have struggled to feature regularly for the Premier League club since joining during the summer transfer window.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday ahead of Brighton’s UEFA Conference League clash against Kauno Žalgiris, Hürzeler provided updates on the fitness and progress of both players.

Azeez joined Brighton from Millwall, while Zadok arrived from AIK Stockholm. Although Azeez is yet to make his competitive debut, Zadok has made three substitute appearances for the Seagulls.

Both players missed Brighton’s first fixture after the international break because they were still recovering from injuries and had not regained full fitness. Azeez could also miss the encounter against Kauno Žalgiris after failing to train on Wednesday.

Hürzeler played down concerns surrounding the Nigerian duo, explaining that adapting to Brighton’s training intensity and playing style was also an important part of their progress.

“No big issue. I think we talked about it at the last press conference, where some players need more time to adapt to the intensity,” the Brighton manager said.

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He added: “Femi’s situation bears some similarities to Zadok’s situation, in that we endeavour to establish an environment enabling them to acclimatise to our expectations and our preferred style of play.” Hürzeler expressed confidence that Azeez would make his debut soon, saying it was “merely a matter of adaptation.” Both players also missed Nigeria’s three fixtures during the first international break of the season as they continued their injury recovery.