Newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion’s pre-season programme could be as diverse as a trip to the Checkatrade Stadium to take on newly appointed Harry Kewell’s Crawley to a home fixture against Spanish giants Atletico Madrid.
So far the Crawley match on Saturday 22 July is confirmed.
Atletico are due to play Liverpool in Germany in early August. However, several European sports websites suggest they may travel to Britain to take on the Seagulls on Sunday 6 August.
The fact the Albion are even being linked with Deigo Simeone’s former Champions League finalists shows just how far the Seagulls have evolved.
Ten years ago Albion’s pre-season home match was a friendly defeat against Ipswich Town. And they were glad of it.
It would be Albion’s most prestigious pre-season friendly since taking on Real Madrid in August 1983. The Seagulls were narrowly beaten 1-0.
