Roberto De Zerbi comments on James Beadle’s future amid interest from Sheffield Wednesday

The 19-year-old has now returned to Brighton & Hove Albion at the end of his loan spell, but the Owls have made it clear they want to bring him back after avoiding relegation.

Beadle’s future remains unclear, with both Jason Steele and Bart Verbruggen continuing to battle for their first-choice spot.

Meanwhile, Carl Rushworth has also returned from his loan spell at Swansea City, while Tom McGill is still awaiting his first senior appearance for the Seagulls.

While it looked likely that they could offload at least one goalkeeper this summer, De Zerbi’s comments regarding their upcoming pre-season campaign could be worrying for Wednesday.

De Zerbi’s pre-season plans will include James Beadle

With Verbruggen and McGill both on international duty this summer, the Brighton manager confirmed his plans for Beadle in pre-season.

According to The Argus, De Zerbi said: “Beadle and Rushworth are both very good goalkeepers.

“Maybe in the pre-season we start with both because Bart will play in Europe and Tom Copa America with Canada.

“I’ll have plenty of time to analyze them both.”

This could give Beadle an opportunity to impress the Italian manager as he looks to force his way into the first team.

De Zerbi may be keen to keep hold of the teenager for pre-season in any case, while a recent report claiming Arsenal are interested in Steele could also encourage Brighton to keep Beadle as a supplement for the next mandate.

Could Brighton bring back the goalkeeper?

Sheffield Wednesday’s interest in the youngster won’t end anytime soon, but they may have to wait until later in the window if they want to bring him back to Hillsborough.

The Owls could see Cameron Dawson leave the club this summer and will therefore need at least two new goalkeepers in their ranks and bringing in Beadle makes a lot of sense.

Given his success this season, De Zerbi will surely see the benefit of sending him back to Yorkshire.

However, it may just depend on where Steele ends up and how much the England U20 international impresses in pre-season.

If not, the likes of Rotherham United’s Viktor Johansson and Wigan Athletic’s player of the year Sam Tickle could be good options to fill the gap between the sticks.

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