Beram Kayal is desperate to meet up with some former Celtic team-mates in the Premier League.
The Israeli slipped out of Celtic unmourned 15 months ago but has revived his career at Brighton who are in a three way scrap for two automatic promotion places.
Brighton, Middlesbrough and Burnley are all locked on 87 points with two matches left to play- and are only split by three goals when it comes down to goal difference.
In their final two fixtures Brighton host Derby then travel to Middlesbrough with Kayal knowing that two wins will take him into the richest league in the world.
“At Celtic as well I played with great players in the middle, players who have proved themselves in the Premier League like Victor Wanyama, Joe Ledley, also Ki Sung-yuen,” he told the Brighton Argus.
“There were a lot of great players there who have gone on to succed with other clubs. Now my dream, as it probably was for them, is to go into the Premier League and do the same.”
At 27 Kayal is approaching the peak years of his career with the injuries that blighted his Celtic days now in the past.
The Israeli internationalist was voted Player of the Year by Brighton supporters but was overlooked by opposition managers when they voted for their Championship team of the season.
“First I’m happy for the players to be there,” Kayal added diplomatically. “They’ve deserved it, they’ve had a great season. If I’m not there I’m not there.
“It doesn’t really bother me to be there or not. Sometimes it’s nice to be there but the only thing important for me is to be here in the first eleven and what the manager here thinks about me. I try to do that in the best way I can.”
