O’Grady admits that his signing came out of the blue – but he didn’t have to think twice when the call came to join the Seagulls.
“I was away on pre-season with Barnsley in Italy, and as soon as I found out Brighton wanted to sign me, I was on the first plane back to England.
“While I would have stayed with Barnsley, the Championship is where I feel I deserve to be playing and to have joined a club of Brighton’s stature is something I’m extremely proud of, as it shows I have been doing something right.*
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind 24 hours, but I’m delighted to have got everything sorted.”
O’Grady will also have a couple of familiar faces in the ranks when he joins up with the squad for the first time on Monday, namely Will Buckley and Dale Stephens.
“I played with Will in my first season at Rochdale. He was there for half a season before he got his move to Watford and you could see then that he had what it takes to play at a higher level.*
When he went Dale came in on loan, so it will be good to have a couple of familiar faces about and it will be good to meet up with them again.
“I’m also looking forward to meeting Sami Hyypia as well, another major reason why I signed for the club.*
“We’ve already spoken on the phone, as he’s been in Spain with the squad, but from what I heard it’s clear that he is a very hard-working and very organised manager.*
“He’s also very experienced and well respected in the game, so I can only learn from someone like him.”
Original article
“I was away on pre-season with Barnsley in Italy, and as soon as I found out Brighton wanted to sign me, I was on the first plane back to England.
“While I would have stayed with Barnsley, the Championship is where I feel I deserve to be playing and to have joined a club of Brighton’s stature is something I’m extremely proud of, as it shows I have been doing something right.*
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind 24 hours, but I’m delighted to have got everything sorted.”
O’Grady will also have a couple of familiar faces in the ranks when he joins up with the squad for the first time on Monday, namely Will Buckley and Dale Stephens.
“I played with Will in my first season at Rochdale. He was there for half a season before he got his move to Watford and you could see then that he had what it takes to play at a higher level.*
When he went Dale came in on loan, so it will be good to have a couple of familiar faces about and it will be good to meet up with them again.
“I’m also looking forward to meeting Sami Hyypia as well, another major reason why I signed for the club.*
“We’ve already spoken on the phone, as he’s been in Spain with the squad, but from what I heard it’s clear that he is a very hard-working and very organised manager.*
“He’s also very experienced and well respected in the game, so I can only learn from someone like him.”
Original article