Tag: Aaron Ramsdale

Pacy Tariq Lamptey smiled on through, despite injury woes

SPEEDY Tariq Lamptey missed too many games through injury in five and a half years at Brighton.

Like many quick players, Lamptey would excite fans when he sped past opponents with ease to create chances for others or score himself. Sadly, that electric pace came at a price.

Shortly after the pint-sized, fleet-footed full-back first broke through at Chelsea under Frank Lampard, he joined Brighton for £3m on January transfer deadline day in 2020.

Brighton were able to offer him more first team chances but lengthy spells on the treatment table meant he only made 122 appearances for the club and 49 of those were as a sub.

The 2024-25 season was another when his involvement was limited to only 14 starts plus six as a sub, although he scored two Premier League goals, netting the opener in a 2-2 draw at Leicester and burying an impressive late equaliser to salvage a point in another 2-2 draw, at Aston Villa. He also scored in the 3-2 League Cup defeat at home to Liverpool.

Throughout the season, there was speculation linking him to moves elsewhere so it came as something of a surprise in the summer of 2025 when it was announced that he had signed a new one-year deal.

However, it transpired that was just a device to secure a fee because he moved on anyway, joining Fiorentina in Italy on August transfer deadline day. Officially the sum involved was undisclosed although media reports put it at £6m.

There was no acrimony surrounding his departure; indeed, head coach Fabian Hurzeler said: “He’s been a valued player throughout his time, but more than that he is a brilliant professional and person.

“This is a good opportunity for him to play both Serie A and European football. On behalf of everyone at the club I’d like to wish him all the very best for the future.”

Sadly, after only a handful of weeks into life at his new club, Lamptey was struck by another devastating injury blow in the 22nd minute of Fiorentina’s 2-1 Serie A defeat at home to Como on 21 September.

He tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and faced a long period of recovery after successful reconstruction surgery.

Lamptey had been at Chelsea for 12 years and had just broken into their first team when he joined the Seagulls in the Covid-hit season. It meant he didn’t make his first start for the Seagulls until June 2020, in a behind-closed-doors 0-0 draw at Leicester.

By the autumn, Lamptey’s form for Brighton was catching the eye of various suitors and earned him a call-up to the England under 21 squad.

He was an unused sub for young England’s 6-0 win over Kosovo on 4 September that year but four days later started in their 2-1 win over Austria; Aaron Ramsdale, Mark Guehi and Jude Bellingham were in the same line-up.

Injury ruled him out of two matches the following month but he returned to the starting XI for England’s 3-1 win over Andorra at Molineux. He was again an unused sub four days later when England beat Albania 5-0 at the same stadium.

Wayne Rooney was reported as saying Lamptey was a player Man United should sign while Bayern Munich, Seville and Atletico Madrid were also said to be watching him.

Amidst it all, head coach Graham Potter said: “We have been delighted with Tariq. It is great to see a young player like him come in and grasp the opportunity. He fits in really well with our club and our team.”

Sadly, Lamptey then suffered a hamstring injury at Fulham in December 2020. It sidelined him until October the following year.

Unsurprisingly, on his return, he said: “I’m grateful to be back on the pitch, playing football and playing well. I’d like to be involved in every game, but it’s up to what the gaffer decides, so I just have to keep training well. Whenever the team call upon me, I’m ready to help.”

Grounded, polite and popular with teammates, Lamptey said in a matchday programme interview: “I love football and have a smile on my face because I enjoy playing. Of course, there are things that you sacrifice for it, but you know why you’re doing it.

“When you’re on the pitch and you have great moments, you remember the times there was sacrifice and you enjoy the moment – that’s what you play for.

“You’re going to go through battles and tough times in football, but that’s all part of it. You know what you’re getting yourself into, so you just have to make sure you believe in yourself, keep working hard and things will turn out right.”

Born in Hillingdon to Ghanaian parents on 30 September 2000, he played locally for Larkspur Rovers before joining the Chelsea academy aged just seven. Lamptey’s progress through the age groups reached a peak when he was part of the Chelsea youth team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2018 (beating Arsenal 7-1 over two legs), alongside the likes of Guehi, Reece James, Conor Gallagher, Billy Gilmour and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

That development at Chelsea also led to him earning selection for England age group sides. He made a total of 18 appearances for the under 18, 19 and 20 sides.

Lampard and Lamptey

His progression to the Chelsea first team saw Frank Lampard give him his Chelsea debut as sub for Fikayo Tomori in a Premier League game away to Arsenal, when he helped Chelsea turn round a goal deficit to win 2-1 on 29 December 2019.

He made two more sub appearances in FA Cup wins the following month: a home debut when he went on in the 76th minute of the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest and he played most of the second half of the 2-1 win at Hull City. But at the end of that month, he joined Brighton.

If it seemed like a surprise move at the time, Albion’s then technical director, Dan Ashworth, pointed out: “We’ve been tracking Tariq for a while and I knew him from my England days, coming through the youth systems, where they spoke very, very highly of him.

“It’s an opportunity for us to bring in a young, exciting and talented player. He has terrific pace and is technically good. He can play as a full-back, a wing-back and has also played some of his time as an advanced midfield player. He brings some real energy and hunger to the squad and I hope he’ll be here for a number of years.”

For his part, Lamptey told the matchday programme: “It was a really tough decision to leave. I’d been with the club since the age of seven and had seen it all the way through to the under 23s and this season with the first team.

“It was a proud moment for me to make my debut but I felt like it was the right time to start a new chapter and come to this brilliant club.”

After welcoming Lamptey back after his first long injury absence, Potter said: “He’s just an amazing person, an amazing young lad. If you speak to anybody here (at Brighton), they just say the same, which is everyone loves him.

“When you have that feeling for someone, of course you want everything to go well for him and he’s had a really tough time. He’s a human being, so you’re going to be frustrated and you’re going to be disappointed and you’re going to be sad and you’re going to be angry — all of those things.

“But how he’s conducted himself, how he’s acted, how he’s got on with his work is just inspirational to everybody. His resilience, his mental strength, his capacity to deal with adversity is incredible, and I think that’s credit to him and his family.

“He’s been fantastic around the place and I think he will use it as a way to strengthen and a way to grow and a way to improve — that’s how Tariq is.”

In a subsequent interview, Potter added: “Tariq needs to be threatening the opposition defenders as much as he can. Some games you can do that from right-back, some games from left-back, sometimes from right wing-back, and sometimes you can be a little bit higher.

“The fact that he’s so open-minded and so ready to help the team makes it easy for me. It’s just finding the right solution for him.”

Albion’s European season of 2023-24 once again saw injury deprive Lamptey of greater involvement (14 starts and 10 as a sub) although coach Roberto De Zerbi was grateful to exploit his versatility when called upon, using him as right-back, left-back and winger.

Lamptey played a key part in the 2-2 comeback draw away to Marseille in the October Europa League group match when filling in for injured Pervis Estupinan at left-back. He capped an influential second-half performance by winning the late penalty from which Joao Pedro equalised.

De Zerbi told The Athletic: “He is a unique player. His attitude and behaviour are incredible. It is to Tariq’s credit that we achieved first place in the Europa League. The penalty in Marseille was for his attitude and passion to create the penalty, to find the one-on-one.

“I would like to improve him in pass control and I would like him cleaner in technique. His characteristic is speed, his energy. When Tariq starts (to run) and is attacking, you have to follow him or you will be left 40 metres behind.”

The admiration was certainly mutual, with Lamptey telling 3 Sports: “He’s an amazing coach; tactically, he makes you look at football from a different point of view.

“You try to add as much to your game as possible, and the way he saw the game was different. We played some fantastic football, so I really enjoyed my time with him. I just try to use the experiences he gave me to add to my game and make me a better player.”

Having collecting those two England under 21 caps after the move to Brighton, and with several contenders ahead of him in the pecking order for the full international side, Lamptey opted to play for his parents’ country at full international level.

It was perhaps not a surprise because through his own charitable foundation he supports youth in Ghana, donating football kit and other sports equipment to the country’s schools and other organisations.

It was the warmth of the people he met while in the country doing his charity work that helped him to decide to play for Ghana, although he said his upbringing in a Ghanaian household was also a factor.

He finally decided to play for the Black Stars after visiting the Cape Coast Stadium to watch Ghana beat Madagascar 3-0. He made his debut for Ghana in September 2022, going on as a sub in a friendly 3-0 defeat against Brazil, and went on to play twice for the country at the Qatar World Cup.

Andy Crosby enjoyed the taste of success with Brighton

ROCK-solid centre-half Andy Crosby won a Division 3 Championship medal with the Albion in 2001 before experiencing two frustrating near-miss seasons as captain of Oxford United.

Brighton’s achievement provided him with his first-ever promotion, but it didn’t turn out to be his last: he climbed out of the same division with Scunthorpe United and then, against all the odds, reached the Championship with the Iron – twice.

Micky Adams, who was a player at Leeds when Crosby was in their youth ranks, had been unsuccessful in trying to sign the defender when he was in charge of Brentford.

But as Adams set about building his first squad at the Albion, he managed to secure Crosby’s services for a £10,000 fee in the summer of 1999.

“I didn’t need any convincing at all to sign,” said Crosby. “It was good timing for me and it worked out fantastically well,” he told Richard Walker. “Sometimes it’s hard to see where you’re going when you’re just keeping your head down and working hard at a struggling club so the Albion did wonders for my career.”

In a matchday programme interview with Spencer Vignes, he added: “I couldn’t wait to sign. Even at that level, I still thought of them as a big club.

“My only reservations were that I’d never lived down south and that we’d just bought a house. We also had a one-year-old daughter. But in the end the pros outweighed the cons.”

The family moved into a house at Stone Cross, near Eastbourne, and Crosby made his debut (albeit with a broken toe!) in the 6-0 Withdean win over Mansfield (as featured in my recent blog post about Darren Freeman).

He developed an effective central defensive partnership with Danny Cullip, and he said: “Although we were very different characters away from the 90 minutes, something really clicked between us and everyone knows how vital it is to have a good centre-half pairing, just as much as a good front two working for each other.

“Our paths have crossed since, and the talk’s always of great memories from Brighton days.”

Hired as a stopper rather than a scorer, Crosby helpfully weighed in with five goals as Albion found their feet back in Sussex.

Then in the following season, Crosby was at the heart of the defence when Albion won the league. “That win down at Plymouth and the home game against Chesterfield where we sealed the Championship will stay with me forever,” he said. “It was just an amazing ride.”

Crosby continued: “We had this great spirit, a team desperate to do really well.

Pouncing to score and celebrate against future employer Hull City

“I’ve got nothing but good memories of the place. It was the first time I’d ever been involved in a promotion campaign as a player. For the first time in my life, I was seeing on a day-to-day basis what it takes to be successful.

“We played some great football and the fans were fantastic. I’ve said it before but if you can’t play for them you can’t play for anyone.”

He added: “Withdean was a funny place but somehow we were able to use it to our advantage. Other clubs didn’t like playing there.”

Getting to grips with Paul Watson

Once elevated to the higher level, Crosby lost his starting place to Simon Morgan and Adams’ successor Peter Taylor continued with Cullip and Morgan as his preferred centre-back pairing.

By then 28, Crosby didn’t fancy a watching brief and in December 2001 he moved on a free transfer to Oxford, the first United signing made by Ian Atkins. He said: “I didn’t want to go, and Peter said he wanted me to stay, but I wanted to play. Going to Oxford meant first team football.”

Although Crosby’s first half season with Oxford saw them struggle near the foot of the division, the 2002-03 campaign ended with them only a point off the play-off places and the central defender scored winning goals in four of the 53 matches he played.

It got better for him on a personal level the next season when his fellow pros named him in the 2003-04 PFA team of the year, but United missed out on the play-offs by three points.

Another string to Crosby’s bow at Oxford was being an accomplished penalty taker. He never missed a spot kick in normal play and, in 2003-04, one of the five he buried was at Scunthorpe’s Glanford Park.

In the summer of 2004, he declined a new contract believed to have been on worse terms than the previous one and chose to move back to the north to join Scunny.

Nonetheless, the Oxford Mail said of him: “The 31-year-old centre back has been a model of consistency in his time at the Kassam Stadium.

“Ideally suited to the Third Division with his uncompromising, no-nonsense style, the hard-tackling defender, who is also good in the air, was also greatly respected by his teammates for his cool professionalism.”

He may have started out in the basement division with Scunthorpe, but what followed was the stuff of dreams. Crosby himself later admitted: “When I joined, if someone had told me I’d be playing for Scunthorpe in the Championship, I would have called them a doctor.

“But it reaffirms your belief in football a little bit, especially when you’re involved first-hand, to see a club of Scunthorpe’s size still being able to pull off what was nothing short of a minor miracle.”

In an interview with the Scunny website, Crosby pointed out: “I was 31 when I arrived at Scunthorpe and I had to use my knowledge and experience in whatever capacity I could, and set standards on and off the pitch. It was something I enjoyed doing and I think it’s something that’s either in you or it’s not.

“My whole time at Scunthorpe was great and I never thought when I signed that we’d get to the Championship twice. It was fantastic and the highlight of my career without a shadow of a doubt.

“I was captain of a promotion-winning team from League One to the Championship, playing at some massive stadiums.”

Although knee injury issues limited him to nine appearances in the 2008-09 season, he was restored to the side for the play-offs and led Scunny to a 3-2 League One play-off final win over Millwall at Wembley in May 2009 (Matt Sparrow scored twice for Scunny).

“It was a great way to end playing,” he admitted. “I have some fantastic memories and look back at my time at the club with nothing but fondness.”

By then he had already been working as assistant manager to Nigel Adkins, the former Iron physio and after playing a total of 715 games for six league clubs he was also Adkins’ assistant manager at Southampton, Reading, Sheffield United, Hull City and Tranmere Rovers.

Crosby, who took over from Adkins as manager of League Two Tranmere in February 2025, said “I’ve got a fantastic relationship with Nigel. He’s been fantastic for me, changed me as a person and polished off a few of the rough edges. I’ve got nothing but great words to say about him.”

Into the manager’s chair

In an interview with tribalfootball.com, he said: “My coaching journey has been full of learning experiences, and I’m a much better coach now than when I started. I was fortunate to work with some fantastic players.

“My best experience was at Southampton, where we achieved back-to-back promotions from League One to the Premier League, working with incredible players like Lallana, Lambert, and Schneiderlin. Even the difficult moments teach you a lot, though. Results didn’t always go our way, but even then, those experiences helped me grow as a coach.”

Crosby also saw the development of the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, James Ward-Prowse and Luke Shaw during nearly two and a half years at Southampton. While at Bramall Lane, he also worked with future England internationals Aaron Ramsdale and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Even at Hull, he had the fortune to work with Fikayo Tomori, on loan from Chelsea, and Jarrod Bowen.

Born in Rotherham on 3 March 1973, miner’s son Crosby was raised in the village of Maltby. He supported the Millers as a youngster but was rejected by them as a player when he was 11. At 14, though, he was taken on at Leeds.

When he didn’t progress beyond the youth team at Elland Road, former Leeds captain and manager Billy Bremner took him on at Doncaster Rovers and gave him his league debut aged 18.

He played 60 times for Donny over a couple of seasons (and spent a month on loan at Conference side Halifax) before moving to the north east and spending five years at Darlington, notching up a total of 211 appearances.

He was captain of the losing side in the 1996 Third Division play-off final at Wembley when Jim Platt’s Darlo lost by a single goal to Neil Warnock’s Plymouth Argyle.

Off-field financial issues marred his time at Chester City in the 1998-99 season, so his move to Brighton was a welcome change.

Reflecting on that time with the Seagulls, he said: “In any walk of life, if you get a really good group together, recruit well and get good characters in who complement each other well, then you should succeed. A lot of that was down to Micky.

“It was the fittest I’ve ever been – that was down to him – but that work and organisation brought its reward which is something I’ve taken with me into my own coaching career.”

Before his current (August 2025) position at Prenton Park, he also coached the Northern Ireland under 21 international side and spent three years coaching and managing at Port Vale.

Dislodged ‘keeper Ryan offered curious reprieve with Gunners

FEW FOOTBALL observers would have imagined an out of favour Brighton goalkeeper would get a move to Arsenal but that’s exactly what happened to Mat Ryan.

The Aussie no.1, Albion’s first choice goalkeeper for their first three seasons in the Premier League, surprisingly joined the Gunners having lost his Seagulls place to young Spaniard Robert Sanchez.

“We know Mat very well through his performances with Brighton in recent seasons and he brings additional quality to our squad,” Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta told the club’s website. “Mat has very good Premier League experience and has played over 100 times in the league, which is something that will benefit us greatly on and off the pitch.”

Technical director Edu added: “Mat is an experienced goalkeeper, a proven talent in the Premier League and has also played many internationals for Australia.

“Mat will further strengthen our squad with his experience and knowledge of playing at the highest level.”

The goalkeeper himself, a self-confessed boyhood Arsenal fan, relished the opportunity but found himself under fire from Brighton fans when he told Optus Sport: “I had in my mind a little bit of a plan that I wanted to play a couple of seasons at Brighton and try and do well and hopefully be bought by a bigger club and keep progressing in my career.

In action for the Gunners

“Perhaps it didn’t work out in the way of playing two, three seasons and then being bought for a fee as no.1 and going and playing.

“But one way or another I’ve obviously ended up in a massive step up from Brighton and to another level of football.”

For someone who had always previously endeared himself to the Albion faithful, memorably running the length of the pitch to join teammates in goal celebrations and after games handing out bits of his kit to supporters, it struck a discordant note.

When Ryan learned how his comments had angered some Brighton supporters, he took to Instagram to address them.

“I want to apologise to anyone who has felt I’ve been disrespectful towards the club. This was not and never will be my intention.

“I recognise how people could have interpreted that through those comments and, moving forward, I’ll be sure to pay extra attention as to how I refer to the club to not have the same outcome.

Albion’s no.1

“The club will always have a special place in my heart. I’ve got nothing but fond memories and wish all the best to you all for the remainder of the season and I’ll always continue to support the club because of our experiences together.”

Those experiences began ahead of Albion’s first season (2017-18) playing in the Premier League. Previous no.1 David Stockdale had chosen to move to Birmingham City, who were offering him a longer-term deal than Brighton, so the coast was clear for Ryan, already an established Australian international, to become Chris Hughton’s first choice goalkeeper.

Hughton himself admitted in an interview with the Argus that Ryan’s arrival had more to do with goalkeeping coach Ben Roberts. “He is the one who went to see him play, watched hours and hours of video.

“I didn’t see him live. Ben just thought he was a player at the right age, really enthusiastic. He’s different, not as big as some of the other keepers, but very athletic and really hungry to do well.

“I certainly watched a lot of him on video. We also, of course, have recommendations from our scouts but Ben is the one who looked at him and recommended him. You have to have faith in your staff.”

For his part, Ryan appreciated the work Roberts put in on the training ground. “Ben has a real knack of getting his goalkeepers in the best physical and mental shape in order to be best prepared for the opposition that we’re facing,” he told the matchday programme.

Signed from La Liga’s Valencia for a then club record transfer fee of £5 million, he played all 38 league games in his first season under Hughton, only missed four because of international commitments in 2018-19 and all league games in Graham Potter’s first season in charge.

In an early matchday programme interview, he spoke about how he had learned about life in the Premier League from fellow Aussie ‘keeper Mark Schwarzer (“a big hero of mine”) and, when on international duty, from former Aston Villa and Man Utd ‘keeper Mark Bosnich.

Ryan more often than not proved a reliable stopper for the Albion and he twice won Australia’s PFA Player of the Year award.

“At this level, you’ve got to be consistent,” he said. “Every day you’ve got to work hard on every aspect of your game and I’ve tried to do that.

“I try to contribute to the team as much as possible and it’s that constant challenge that you’ve got to try and live up to and, I guess, is what separates good players from great players – remaining consistent and sustaining those very high levels.”

And according to wearebrighton.com: “At his best throughout the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons, he was one of the most dependable number ones in the Premier League whose performances did more than most to keep Brighton in the top flight.”

He was sorry to see Hughton sacked – “Brought the club success it could only dream of and will always be someone I have the highest respect for” – but was happy to adapt to Potter’s more possession-based style in which the goalkeeper needed to be comfortable with the ball at his feet.

“It’s important we adapt to the new style so the system works as effectively as possible,” he said. “In the modern game you have to be able to adapt anyway, so each day I’m working hard and doing what’s being asked of me.”

The beginning of the end of his time at the Albion came when, out of the blue, young Sanchez was chosen to keep goal in a 2-1 defeat at Spurs after the Seagulls had managed only one win in the first six matches of the 2020-21 season.

Although restored to the starting line-up for the following five matches, following a 3-0 defeat at Leicester, Ryan was summoned by Potter and told Sanchez would be given an extended run in the side and that, assuming he wanted a no.1 berth, he would be better looking for a new club.

The conversation staggered Ryan and, ever a willing interviewee, told The World Game he was surprised and shocked but added: “Knowing where I stand now, from what was communicated to me, perhaps it might be better that we do go our separate ways.

“However, until that opportunity comes – and it’s a good project – then, as far as I’m concerned, I’m a Brighton player and I’m here to fight for my spot.”

Taking the opposite stance to the one Sanchez subsequently took when Jason Steele ousted him as no.1, Ryan vowed to continue to work hard.

“I still feel like I’ve got a lot to contribute and I’ll be trying to convince the manager I’m the best man for the job,” he said.

“I feel the experience I’ve picked up over the last three years in England shows I’ve got plenty to give to any club that wants to acquire my services.

“I think I’ve proved that through my performances.”

It was never particularly clear why Ryan eventually fell out of favour, although he ventured some ideas in an exclusive interview with Andy Naylor for The Athletic in March 2022.

He remembered at the start of the 2020-21 season noting there had been rumours around Albion being interested in signing Emiliano Martinez (who eventually went from Arsenal to Aston Villa) and when his (Ryan’s) agent tried to ask the club about it no one answered his call.

He was also heading into his fourth season of a five-year contract, but his agent wasn’t getting any response as to whether there would be a renewal.

“Thinking back, after all that has happened, maybe that was a sign,” Ryan told Naylor. “At the time, I wasn’t thinking anything of it, but when I think back now, maybe these were little signs.”

The loan move to Arsenal might have been brief – he had a won one, drew one, lost one record in three games – but his commitment to the cause was appreciated.

In a game against Fulham, a minute before the final whistle, Ryan went up for a corner and got his head on the ball to keep it live in the Fulham box before Eddie Nketiah equalised a few seconds later.

“I picked him because he totally deserves to play, he trains like a beast, he’s got the right attitude and he needed a game,” Arteta told Arsenal.com. “It was a great header.”

It led to him being chosen ahead of Bernd Leno for the 2 May trip to Newcastle which Arsenal won 2-0.

Although Arteta made all the right noises about signing him on a permanent basis, it turned out they wanted an English goalkeeper and they signed Aaron Ramsdale instead.

While awaiting news of where his next move would be, Ryan told Fox Sports Australia: “I’ve learnt so much in my experiences (at Arsenal) so far, all that’s being with a club like that, the resources, the personnel, the quality on the pitch, the enormity of the club on a global aspect… it was so cool to be a part of.

“It was a great experience and I was really proud of how I did and really content with how I did, and I showed that I have the capability to play at a level like that. I look forward to seeing what that little period now means for me moving forward.”

It was clear there would be no return to the Albion no.1 spot but warm words were issued when his summer departure to Real Sociedad was announced.

Potter declared: “He’s a great guy, top professional and as someone who wants to be playing regularly at senior level he goes to Real Sociedad with our very best wishes. 

“He’s been a pleasure to work with, he will be fondly remembered by everyone and always welcome back at the club.”

Unfortunately for Ryan, a knee cartilage injury suffered in pre-season put a hold on him mounting a challenge to Sociedad’s well-established Alex Remiro, and he had limited chances to shine back in Spain.

Nonetheless, his confidence remained high and he told Naylor in The Athletic article: “I’m a very good goalkeeper – a world-class goalkeeper. Since I left Brighton, I feel the level I’ve played at in the games I’ve played in has been quite high.

“Don’t get me wrong, every time the team list goes up and I see I’m not playing, it’s a blow – a kick in the guts – but I try using it as motivation to keep pushing on. I won’t stop until I see my name there more regularly.”

Born on 8 April 1992 in Plumpton, New South Wales, as a teenager Ryan played for semi-professional sides Marconi Stallions and Blacktown City before turning pro with Central Coast Mariners in 2010, where he was given his pro debut by Graham Arnold, later his head coach at international level.

In the course of his three years with the Mariners, he picked up various league accolades for his performances and earned his first international recognition when selected for Australia’s under 23s in 2011. He stepped up as a full international the following year making his debut in a 1-1 draw with North Korea and played all three matches in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil before winning the AFC Asian Cup with the Socceroos in 2015. He went on to play for his country at the 2018 and 2022 World Cup final tournaments and, at the time of writing, had 95 caps to his name.

Aussie international stopper

It was in 2013 that he moved to Europe and was signed by Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge, where he made more than 100 appearances over two years and was in the side that won the Belgian Cup in 2015 when Anderlecht were beaten 2-1 in Brussels. Ryan was the league’s goalkeeper of the year in 2014 and 2015.

An unhappy spell at Valencia followed where he managed only 21 appearances in two years, as the club got through five different managers. He spent the second half of the 2016-17 season back in Belgium, on loan to Genk, where he played 24 matches.

It would be fair to say Ryan has endured mixed fortunes since leaving Brighton. He managed only nine games for Sociedad before switching to FC Copenhagen but he only made six Danish Superliga starts and appeared in five cup matches while in Denmark.

AZ Alkmaar in the Netherlands were able to offer him a return to being a regular no.1, though, and in 18 months he played 64 matches for the Eredivisie side, including 15 Europa Conference League games.

At the end of the 2023-24 season, he failed to agree a new deal with the club and the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported that he ‘lost his game of poker’ with AZ’s sporting director Max Huberts, the club walking away from negotiations due to his wage demands.

As a free agent, Ryan joined Albion’s 2023-24 Europa League opponents AS Roma on a one-year contract as back-up to Serbian first choice ‘keeper, Belgian-born Serbian international Mile Svilar.

“If they get the Brighton version of Mathew Ryan, Roma will have a very safe pair of hands waiting in the wings,” reckoned Eliot Ben-Ner, writing for The Football Hub.

However, Ryan’s reign in Rome lasted only six months and in January 2025 he moved for a reported fee of £676,000 to French Ligue 1 side Lens on a six-month deal.