Brighton have announced the signing of Taylor Richards from Manchester City for a fee believed to be around £2.5 million. The 18 year old has signed a two year contract with the Seagulls and will look to push for a place within the Brighton senior squad.
Here’s what technical director, Dan Ashworth has had to say about the transfer:
“Taylor is an exciting young talent. He has already played for England at junior levels and pre-season will be a great opportunity for us to see his ability at first hand. He is keen to play senior football, so that is the first challenge for him – alongside the other group of younger players – with a longer-term aim to continue the progress he has already made with Manchester City.”
Player History
Richards began his professional career at Manchester City and has spent 2 years in their development squad, having played a total of 60 games across all youth competitions, scoring 19 goals and 2 assists. Richards was on the fringe of the Manchester City first team and was called up to the bench by Pep in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Burton Albion.
Internationally, Richards has been capped on three occasions for England under-17’s.
Fantasy Football Potential
Richards clearly has potential to pick up a starting position in the Brighton squad in the coming season, but it is likely that this won’t be this season. He will most likely get game time off of the bench, but whether he will manage to nail down a position in Graham Potter’s first team this season is to be seen.
If and when Richards is added in Fantasy Premier League it is likely that he will be priced around £4.5m. Brighton do have a reasonable start to the Premier League, with a first five fixtures of; Watford (A), West Ham (H), Southampton (H), Manchester City (A) and Burnley (H), however if you want a Brighton player, a more secured starter may be wise.
