Ivory Coast forward Simon Adingra is being tipped to be Albion’s next Premier League star.
The 21-year-old has impressed on loan at Belgian side Union Saint Gilloise this season – just as Kaoru Mitoma did last term. Mitoma has played a big role in our push for Europe this season with seven goals and four assists. Deniz Undav, who spent two seasons at Union before signing for Albion last summer, has now started to weigh in with three crucial goals in our last four games.
Defender Christian Burgess, who spent years in the lower leagues in England with Portsmouth, Peterborough and Hartlepool, has been playing Champions League and Europa League football with Union this season.
And having seen all three players in his time in Brussels over the past three years, Burgess, 31, believes that the lightning-fast Adingra can successfully make the same transition.
He said: “I think Simon has a big chance to do well in the Premier League. He is a terrific talent, has a lot of ability. He has got goals for us this season and has tremendous pace. Hopefully he will go back there in the summer, have a good pre-season and get his shot. I’d be delighted if he does.
“He is still young and has all the talent, that is for sure. Like all young players he has some development to go, but they are good at that at Brighton. He has enough about him to have a real shot, and is he keeps working hard and putting in the performances he has for us this season, he has a real opportunity. I was very happy for Deniz getting another goal for Brighton at Arsenal. Now he is getting his minutes he is proving his ability."
Burgess believes there are a lot of talented players in the Belgium’s Jupiler League. “There are some great players and have been for a while. You can see that from what Deniz Undav is doing now, what Kaoru Mitoma has done, and the others at Burnley," he added. “I expect to see more players from the top Belgium leave for really big clubs this summer.”
Adingra has scored ten goals for Union this season and had the benefit of playing first Champions League qualifier football, and then in the Europa League. USG reached the quarter finals of Uefa’s second most prestigious club competition this season, where they eventually lost to Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen.
Adingra and Union are also still very much in the hunt for the title after a 3-0 win over Genk at the weekend with centre-back Burgess grabbing a double. Having finished second in the regular season to Genk only on goal difference, there are now only three games left in the play-off round for the top four sides.
And it is looking like a showdown between Adingra’s team and Antwerp – with those clubs meeting again later this month.