Max Sanders

Every list of this type that gets done seems to have Max Sanders on it. You and I both know he is a quality footballer. He was tipped to break into the Brighton first team setup and was clearly one we identified as having the capability to progress. That eye for a player isn’t wrong; look at the others we signed at the tail end of their pathway; TJ Eyoma, Tayo Edun and Anthony Scully. These are good footballers, capable of doing good things for us. Max can do that, and yet for a season-and-a-half, he just hasn’t. Was there an issue between him and Michael Appleton?

I can probably say now that when I interviewed Max for the club programme, he struck me as a frustrated young man, eager to show what he could do but not being given the chance. When he did get a chance (Bowers) and did well, he was dropped straight afterwards. The final game of the season, a pointless dead rubber, saw us start with a loan player ahead of one of our own, a criminal move that made Max look like leftovers after a big meal. This summer, things are different; he’s involved, seemingly in the first team picture, and if we get him firing, finally, we’ll have the commanding midfield presence that I believe he could be when he signed. If that happens, then he’ll be every bit as good as a new signing.