Late on transfer deadline day - AKA Thursday - Brighton announced that Richie Towell will leave the club on a season-long loan.
League One side Rotherham is the Dubliner's new, temporary home.
The possibility of Towell departing the Premier League side on loan had been flagged for a number of months. As far back in May, Chris Hughton said Towell would be leaving the club on loan this season in hope of finding regular first team football.
The Brighton manager's assertion came just days before the club handed the 26-year-old an extension to his contract which ties him to the Amex until 2019. Come the new season, he was not given a squad number.
#BHAFC midfielder Richie Towell has joined Rotherham on a season-long loan deal. More at https://t.co/3vhndU5zsS. #DeadlineDay
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 31, 2017
Hughton said on Thursday that the move to Rotherham is an 'ideal opportunity' for Towell. Many would say a Championship club would have been the preferred destination rather than one which finished rock bottom of English football's second tier last year and now has one win - and three losses - from its brief time back in League One.
Richie wants to play regularly and this is an ideal opportunity for him to do that. It’s a move that benefits all three parties: the player, ourselves and Rotherham.
Richie is a great professional that always works hard in training, and this will provide him with the opportunity to play regular first-team matches.
Towell joined Brighton in January 2016 but struggled to establish himself at the club which flew high in the Championship and is now in the Premier League.
Rotherham manager Paul Warne said that Towell is a player he's had his eye on for a while.
He is a player I have looked at for a long time, after we made a concerted effort to bring him here in January. He has been on my radar ever since, and I am honoured that he has agreed to come and join us.
What attracted him to me was his unbelievable energy. He falls into the type of player that I want here, and I know he will embrace the opportunity.
