Super Eagles defender, Leon Balogun will team up with English Premier League side, Brighton & Hove Albion for pre-season friendlies today.
The 30-year-old joined Brighton from German side Mainz on a free transfer and will commence life at his new club with pre-season friendly against AFC Wimbledon on July 21.
Leon Balogun and two other Brighton signings Mathew Ryan [Australia] and Jose Izquierdo [Colombia] featured at the just-concluded World Cup in Russia.
Leon Balogun played in all three Group D matches of the Super Eagles at the World Cup.
Their manager at Brighton, Chris Hughton, is hoping the stars will be in good shape ahead of life at the club.
Hughton told the club website: “The three players who went to the tournament are back this week – Leon (Balogun) comes back on Tuesday, Maty is back on Wednesday.
“Jose has an extended period of time because his country reached the knockout stages, so he will be back with the group next Monday.
“They’ll all come back in good shape, but once the season starts you want them to be up to speed. So for us, it’s about making sure that they will be.
“Some teams in our league have already played one or two matches, our thinking is to get a level of fitness up and then play matches whilst trying to not pick up any injuries.
“I’m happy with where we are, and we also have players coming back too, which will be good for the group, so I’m very pleased.”
After their first pre-season game against AFC Wimbledon on July 21, Brighton will play Charlton on July 24.
The Seagulls, as they are popularly called. will next play Birmingham City four days later and will conclude their pre-season with an international friendly game against Portuguese side, Sporting Lisbon.
Brighton will face Watford in their first match of the 2018/19 English Premier League season on August 11.
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