Florin Andone has hit back at reports claiming he does not want to return to Brighton and Hove Albion from his loan spell at Galatasaray. Andone joined Galatasaray on a season-long loan deal in late August after beginning the campaign in disappointing fashion for Albion, picking up a red card in the Seagulls’ 2-0 defeat to Southampton.
Although the Romanian struggled to make an impact since arriving at The AMEX Stadium from Deportivo La Coruna in May 2018, scoring just three goals from 23 Premier League appearances during his debut season, he later revealed Brighton didn’t want to let him leave the club on loan during the summer transfer window.
Graham Potter, who replaced the sacked Chris Hughton in May, immediately found a place for Andone in his line-up and the 26-year-old scored in the 3-0 away win at Watford on the opening weekend of the season.
But Andone was keen to force through an exit before the European transfer window shut and stated he needed a change of scenery to regain the form of his previous prolific spell at Deportivo La Coruna.
He scored a brace in Galatasaray’s 3-2 win over Sivasspor on Friday to finally get off the mark for the Turkish giants – with his brilliant opening goal showcasing the sort of ability that persuaded Brighton to part with £5.25m and put him on a five-year deal.
There have been some rumours in Turkey that Andone, who is likely to start instead of the injured Falcao against Real Madrid this week, now wants to stay in Istanbul and extend his stay with Galatasaray.
But, speaking to Spanish newspaper AS, Andone replied: “I was misunderstood and I want to make it clear. My year [at Brighton] was not what I expected. I missed that they had confidence in me, I didn’t play more than two consecutive games as a starter. I don’t ask to play every game, because I’m not a megastar, I just want continuity. I started to doubt myself, my abilities and if I really had a level [to succeed] in the Premier League. “There were many disappointments. It’s not that I don’t want to go back, I respect Brighton, they signed me six years and they’re concerned about me. I just want to feel like a footballer. It all starts by recovering my best form and being happy.”
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