Yaya Touré visits Brighton training to provide insight on African players

Yaya Touré during his time as an assistant coach at Belgian club Standard Liège. Photo Credit: Standard Liège/X

With a large African contingent in his team that includes the likes of Simon Adingra, Carlos Baleba and Yankuba Minteh, Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hürzeler invited a special guest to training on Wednesday.

Former Ivory Coast and Manchester City legend Yaya Touré attended training and spoke with Hürzeler, who revealed that he is looking for ways to better connect and understand the African players in his squad in comments recorded by The Athletic:

“That is why he was here. First of all he has a good relationship with the African players and it’s very important that we have someone who can talk to the players with an understanding of where they come from, what the culture is there and their needs."

Hürzeler, who is one of the rising young managers in world football, expressed his desire to visit Africa and learn more. But his biggest priority was understanding how an African talent like Touré, currently an assistant coach with the Saudi Arabia national team, adjusted so quickly to English football.

“He needed time to be able to play in the Premier League. He said the physical demands were completely different. It gives then an understanding of how he adapted, what helped him to adapt."

The ASEC Mimosas youth graduate spent almost ten years in European football before making the move to Manchester City. Despite being with big European clubs like FC Barcelona as well as Greek giants Olympiacos, Touré still needed to adapt to the high physical standards of the Premier League.

“He is an unbelievable personality and he was a great player...I took away a lot of things and for sure we will will stay in touch. Let’s see how this relationship continues," Hürzeler concluded.