Richie Towell: I aim to give Brighton boss Chris Hughton a headache

Richie Towell says it will be a privilege to work under former Ireland international and coach Chris Hughton but insists he also plans to give the Brighton manager a selection headache.

As expected, the SSE Airtricity League Player of the Year with double kings Dundalk yesterday sealed a two and half year move to the Championship leaders and will be available to play for the club in January.

“He seems like a great manager,” Towell said of Hughton, “so I’m going to be very privileged to work with him.

“I was very lucky to work with (Brighton assistant manager) Colin Calderwood at Hibs — he brought me there when I was really young — so to get back working with him again is going to be great.

“But first and foremost I need to break into the Brighton squad. They have some really good players. I know it’s not going to be easy for me. But I’m very determined to give the manager a few headaches.

“I’m really excited to get started. I can’t play until the first of January, so I need to keep myself in the best shape possible and hopefully I can hit the ground running. There were a couple of other Championship clubs interested and some teams from Turkey and the States as well but for my development this is the right move for me,” said Towell who cannot play for Brighton until the transfer window opens again on January 1.

“Brighton are a very ambitious club and I’m a very ambitious player, so hopefully we can move forward.”

Hughton said of the 24-year-old Dubliner: “Richie’s had a wonderful season in Ireland and scored a lot of goals for Dundalk from midfield, and that really caught our eye.

“He is something different to the number of very good midfield options we already have here and I am really looking forward to having him as part of our squad in the New Year.

“He had a lot of good options available for his next move; here in England, in Scotland, in Ireland with Dundalk and in Europe, so we are delighted he has decided to join us.

“We will give him some time off for a well-deserved break, as he’s played a lot of football in the past nine months, but I am certain he will be ready for us in January and will be an excellent addition to the squad.”