Albion have signed Stoke City defender and former England international Matthew Upson on loan until the end of the season.
The 33-year-old passed a medical at the Amex earlier this evening and will be available to make his Albion debut when Albion travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Gus Poyet told seagulls.co.uk, “Everybody knows we have been looking for a player in that position. When we had the chance to bring a player with the quality of Matt until the end of the season we went for him.
“He’s experienced, he’s been a regular Premier League player and there were no doubts about it. He has presence, he’s a leader as well and it’s a good opportunity for us to use him the right way and for him to play football.
“Wayne Bridge knows him well from England and he’s delighted as well. It should be very easy for them to play together. These opportunities don’t come along very often so we had to take it and we hope to have him ready for Saturday.
“The teams at the top of this league have very experienced players and that gives you the extra bit when you need it. That experience will be important and the rest of the players will learn a lot from him too.”
Upson turned professional with Arsenal after a reported £2m move from Luton Town in 1997 and he went on to make over 50 appearances for the north London giants during his six-year stay.
During that time he had loans spells at Reading, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest before signing permanently for Birmingham City for £1m in 2003.
He established himself as a regular Premier League defender with the Blues, while also receiving his full England debut, and racked up 128 appearances at St Andrew’s before a £6m move to West Ham United in 2007.
Upson went on to captain the Hammers and made 144 appearances for the east London side before a free move to Stoke City during the 2011 summer.*
He has since fallen out of favour at the Britannia Stadium, behind Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth, but had no qualms about dropping down to the Championship to join up with the Seagulls.
He said, “It’s a really good opportunity for me. I have not been playing as much football as I would have liked this season. It’s a chance for me to play until the end of the season.
“I’ve heard lots of positive things about Gus and his management style and the whole package here at Brighton is very exciting for me.”
In total, Upson has accumulated over 350 senior career appearances and 21 caps for England; his loan deal will cover any potential play-off matches for Albion at the end of the season.
Original article
The 33-year-old passed a medical at the Amex earlier this evening and will be available to make his Albion debut when Albion travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Gus Poyet told seagulls.co.uk, “Everybody knows we have been looking for a player in that position. When we had the chance to bring a player with the quality of Matt until the end of the season we went for him.
“He’s experienced, he’s been a regular Premier League player and there were no doubts about it. He has presence, he’s a leader as well and it’s a good opportunity for us to use him the right way and for him to play football.
“Wayne Bridge knows him well from England and he’s delighted as well. It should be very easy for them to play together. These opportunities don’t come along very often so we had to take it and we hope to have him ready for Saturday.
“The teams at the top of this league have very experienced players and that gives you the extra bit when you need it. That experience will be important and the rest of the players will learn a lot from him too.”
Upson turned professional with Arsenal after a reported £2m move from Luton Town in 1997 and he went on to make over 50 appearances for the north London giants during his six-year stay.
During that time he had loans spells at Reading, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest before signing permanently for Birmingham City for £1m in 2003.
He established himself as a regular Premier League defender with the Blues, while also receiving his full England debut, and racked up 128 appearances at St Andrew’s before a £6m move to West Ham United in 2007.
Upson went on to captain the Hammers and made 144 appearances for the east London side before a free move to Stoke City during the 2011 summer.*
He has since fallen out of favour at the Britannia Stadium, behind Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth, but had no qualms about dropping down to the Championship to join up with the Seagulls.
He said, “It’s a really good opportunity for me. I have not been playing as much football as I would have liked this season. It’s a chance for me to play until the end of the season.
“I’ve heard lots of positive things about Gus and his management style and the whole package here at Brighton is very exciting for me.”
In total, Upson has accumulated over 350 senior career appearances and 21 caps for England; his loan deal will cover any potential play-off matches for Albion at the end of the season.
Original article