Danny Pappoe and George Cole with Simon Ireland
Image by: Paul Hazlewood
PUBLISHED
15:25 4th August 2014
by Adam Tighe
Young players that have been at some of the biggest clubs in England are seeking out Brighton as a place to go"
David Burke
David Burke
Former Chelsea youngsters Danny Pappoe and George Cole have joined Brighton & Hove Albion under-21s, having each agreed a one-year contract.
Both players appeared in Simon Ireland’s side’s pre-season friendlies including the tour to La Manga, Spain.*
He told seagulls.co.uk, “Trial periods are always high pressure for a player because you are on a limited timescale to show what you can do, but both Danny and George have slipped seamlessly into the group and that has paid dividends on and off the pitch.
“We don’t just sign these players on what they do during their trial though, we have looked at both before they came here and we have also looked at what they can offer going forward, and we are very pleased to add them into our squad.
“Both have good experience having played at a club of Chelsea’s stature and we feel they will help us be competitive and provide some stability during our first season as a category one side.
“With so many players taking the step up to the first team recently there has been a void in our under-21s that our under-18s have been filling, but we needed to bring in more faces at under-21 level so that we don’t over exert our youngsters too early.”
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David Burke added, “It is another positive sign for the club that young players that have been at some of the biggest clubs in England are seeking out Brighton as a place to go, because there is a realistic pathway for them to the first team."
Cole, 19, is an attacking midfielder who rose to prominence in Chelsea’s under-18s before leaving Blues at the end of last season.
Central defender Pappoe has represented Ghana at under-20 level and has already made his professional league debut while briefly on loan at Colchester United in 2013.*
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Original article