Brighton technical director Dan Ashworth said his relationship with Tony Mowbray, and a chance meeting with Rovers head of recruitment John Park, was key in Reda Khadra’s loan move to Ewood Park.

Park met Ashworth ahead of Brighton’s friendly at Rangers in July where he watched Khadra impress in a 45 minute cameo, a player the pair had spoken about before kick-off.

The 20-year-old had impressed the Seagulls management team enough to make his debut against Manchester City in January, and with Rovers in the market for a winger in the summer, it seemed like a good fit.

Khadra’s move was delayed by injury, his run-out at Rangers a rare outing in pre-season because of that, with the deal not finalised until deadline day.

Brighton have become a club increasingly involved in the loan market, with Rovers having also signed up defender Jan Paul van Hecke, and Ashworth explained the process in an interview with The Athletic.

He said: “I used to work with Tony Mowbray and Mark Venus at West Brom. I saw John Park, their chief scout at our friendly at Glasgow Rangers in July. I know John very well, he used to work at Celtic.

“I bumped into him beforehand, having a cup of tea. He asked ‘Who might come out on loan from your squad?’ I went through the list and one of them was Reda. I said: ‘Watch him, he’s really quick, he’ll give you something different’.

“John liked Reda in that first 45 minutes against Rangers. It escalated from there. Sometimes it’s by a bit of luck, sometimes clubs have been tracking a player for a period of time.” 

Mowbray had previously revealed Park, brought in as head of recruitment following the departure of Stuart Harvey, was instrumental in Khadra’s signing, one of four loanees brought in by the club.

He said after the winger’s debut: “John Park brought him to my attention when he went to watch Rangers play Brighton and Hove Albion in pre-season and he said ‘if you want directness and a lad who can run up and down and past any full-back, inside or outside, you should go for him’.”