Reda Khadra joins Stade De Reims for £1.7m
With the sale of Reda Khadra to Ligue 1 side Stade de Reims for £1.7 million, Brighton have made a tidy profit on a player they picked up on a free transfer three years ago.
But his departure comes with a ting of disappointment that Khadra never realised the potential that marked him out as the best player in the Albion’s development squad following his arrival from Borussia Dortmund.
Khadra turned out for the German giant’s Under 16s, Under 17s and Under 18s during his time at Signal Iduna park. He won the Bundesliga Under 17s title in 2017-18 and the Under 19s title a season later.
In total, Khedra made 69 appearances for Dortmund’s youth teams, scoring two goals and providing 11 assists. He also turned out once for the first team, scoring the first goal in a 5-0 friendly win against Energie Cottbus in June 2019 a month before his 18th birthday.
Following his release by Dortmund in the summer of 2020, Khadra had trials with Stoke City and Manchester United. Brighton secured his signature in October and he soon made an impression in the Under 23s, scoring three goals and claiming two assists from six matches.
Despite Graham Potter’s phobia of out-and-out wingers, Khadra was given a surprise Premier League debut at Manchester City just four months after moving to England.
Khadra enjoyed an exciting cameo at the Eithad Stadium. He offered something different to Potter’s other forward options of the time, wanting to do radical things like run with the ball rather than pass sideways.
Brighton fans clamoured for the 19-year-old to be further involved in an attempt to improve a dismal start to the campaign of just two wins from the opening 18 matches.
Hopes of seeing more of Khadra were dashed by an untimely injury in the middle of February which brought his 2020-21 season to a premature end.
Khadra was picked by many Brighton supporters and pundits to be the Albion’s breakout star in 2021-22, including us here at WAB.
Instead, he was sent on loan to Blackburn Rovers. Khadra made 28 appearances in all competitions for Rovers, scoring five times and claiming four assists before a calf injury in March ruled him out for the final two months of the campaign.
Blackburn had spent more than 100 days in the Championship top six until their form dived off a cliff. Their final 17 matches yielded just four wins and scoring goals became a real problem, highlighting the importance of Khadra to their promotion bid.
Khadra even won Blackburn’s Goal of the Season award for a stunning free kick in a 1-0 win over Queens Park Rangers. It proved to be a good year for Brighton loanees at Ewood Park with Jan Paul van Hecke being voted Rovers Player of the Season.
Despite his good season with Blackburn, Khadra found himself further down the pecking order when he returned to Brighton thanks to the emergence of Jeremy Sarmiento and the arrival of Kaoru Mitoma.
Another loan move for 2022-23 to Sheffield United did not therefore come as a shock. What was a surprise was the Blades having an obligation to buy at the end of the season if Khadra met certain criteria.
Khadra though only made four starts and 11 substitute appearances for the Blades, scoring once. The lack of opportunities saw his spell at Bramall Lane cut short in January to facilitate a move to Birmingham City. Four goals and two assists followed for the Blues.
On paper, the change in Brighton manager from Potter to Roberto De Zerbi looked like it could revive the Albion career of Khadra.
De Zerbi values fast, direct wingers in his 4-2-3-1 formation, suiting the skillset that Khadra showed when he first signed for Brighton.
The reality, however, is De Zerbi has decided there is no room for Khadra. And at 22-years-old, Khadra is now of an age where he needs regular first team football.
He will have a better chance of getting that in France with Stade de Reims. Brighton fans will now have to settle for watching on and seeing if Khadra can fulfil that rich potential that caused so much excitement when he first appeared in a Seagulls shirt.
