Brighton & Hove Albion are considering recalling Malick Yalcouye from a season-long loan with Austrian Champions League participants Sturm Graz.
The versatile 19-year-old midfielder has thrived to such an extent with the club currently leading the Austrian Bundesliga that Brighton could trigger a recall option in the loan to add him to Fabian Hurzeler’s squad in January.
Yalcouye has scored two goals with two assists in 18 appearances across all competitions for Sturm Graz. He has started five of their six matches in the Champions League group stage.
Brighton signed Yalcouye in the summer transfer window from Swedish side IFK Gothenburg for an initial £7.6million plus add-ons. He caught their eye after making just 11 appearances in Sweden’s top-flight Allsvenskan and 15 outings in total for Gothenburg.
The deal for the French-speaking teenager broke Gothenburg’s transfer record. Brighton head coach Hurzeler said when Yalcouye moved to England in August that he could “develop into a top-class player”.
Yalcouye featured in two friendlies on Brighton’s pre-season tour of Japan in July before making the loan switch. He has been back to Ivory Coast, the country where he grew up, to visit family members during the winter break in Austria.
Sturm Graz return to action away to Atalanta in the Champions League on January 21. They are currently in 29th place in the group of 36 teams, with only the top 24 qualifying for the next stages.
Brighton go to West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday in ninth place after four matches without a win.
(Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)
