Bolton confirm key Amario Cozier-Duberry transfer detail amid Sheffield United links
Sheffield United were recently credited with interest in signing Brighton & Hove Albion ace Amario Cozier-Duberry.
Bolton Wanderers head coach Steven Schumacher has confirmed Brighton & Hove Albion will have the opportunity to recall winger Amario Cozier-Duberry in January amid recent reports linking him with Sheffield United.
The 20-year-old, who spent last season on loan at Blackburn Rovers, has made a bright start to his Wanderers career after joining them on a season-long loan deal in July.
His first 12 appearances for the League One outfit have featured three goals and four assists. He scored his first goal for the club against Sheffield Wednesday in the Carabao Cup first round in August, bending in a terrific 92nd-minute equaliser to send the game to a penalty shootout.
As a result of his bright start to his time at the Toughsheet Community Stadium, the Blades were credited with interest in his signature by The Argus last month. The report said United had ‘stepped up their interest’ in him ahead of the January window.
Blades boss Chris Wilder confirmed after last weekend’s defeat at Hull City that he has been drawing up plans ahead of the mid-season window, but he stopped short of naming any names or hinting at which positions he wishes to strengthen.
However, amid recent suggestions Cozier-Duberry is of interest to the Blades, Bolton chief Schumacher has confirmed Brighton inserted a break clause into the deal that saw him move to Greater Manchester in the summer.
Schumacher calm about Cozier-Duberry situation
As quoted by The Bolton News, Schumacher said: “In the loan contract of all these players there’s always a call-back clause in January. That’s kind of what happens.
“If it's going well for them and they have other plans, or it's not going well and we need to send them back, then there's always a break clause.
“But it's not a concern that they're doing well. That's the point of us having loan players because we think they're good players and they come in and help your team. So, I'm delighted with all of the loan players that we've had.
“Probably the one that hasn't made the impact as much as we would have wanted to yet because his opportunity hasn't been there is Ibrahim Cissoko. He has found himself behind Thierry Gale at this point in time, but the others are all performing really well.”
At this moment in time, it remains to be seen how Brighton will view Cozier-Duberry’s situation come January. However, it is not uncommon for Premier League clubs to recall players from season-long loans mid-season and send them to another club higher up the pyramid.
A recent example of that was when Brighton sent goalkeeper James Beadle on loan to Oxford United for the duration of the 2023/24 campaign in the summer of 2023 before recalling him mid-season and sending him to Wednesday for the remainder of the campaign.