Socceroos No.1 Mat Ryan's future at Brighton is in doubt after he was sensationally axed from the Seagulls squad by manager Graham Potter for Thursday's 0-0 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
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Ryan, who has only missed one Premier League match outside of international commitments since joining the club on a five-year deal in 2017, wasn't even on the bench in a shock move that could potentially spell the end of his time with the club where he's been one of the Premier League's most consistent goalkeepers.
Potter last month dropped Ryan to the bench for the clash against Tottenham for tactical reasons, but reinstated him for a 0-0 draw with Burnley the following week.
But he was not even among the substitutes in a game that saw the Seagulls denied a win in west London after VAR ruled out an Adam Lallana goal, with young Spaniard Roberto Sanchez preferred in goal and regular reserve Jason Steele named as his back-up.
Potter said Sanchez would be rewarded for keeping a clean sheet by starting against the EPL's bottom club Sheffield United on Sunday.
"You have to take into consideration everything for the decision, but a lot of it was about Rob's quality and how much we believe in him," Potter said.
"Sometimes you have to give a player the opportunity to show what they have got.
"Rob, he has some incredible attributes that we wanted to use and incredible potential.
"It is our job now to help him fulfil that.
"He will keep his place, he earned it on merit, has trained well, worked hard and his performance was good tonight."
The transfer window opens in Europe on January 2 but Potter refused to say if Ryan would be on his way out the club.
"Rob played tonight and Jason plays the role as No.2 really well and that's where we are at," Potter said.
Australian Associated Press
