“We can be thankful for that”

Enock Mwepu of English Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion had to end his football career at the age of 24 due to heart problems. His former coach Graham Potter, now at Chelsea, speaks of “luck” at a press conference.

The Zambian international, who moved from Red Bull Salzburg to Brighton in the summer of 2021 for 23 million euros, was diagnosed with a “hereditary heart disease”, the club announced on Monday. A continuation of the career would lead to an “extremely high risk”.

Mwepu had been unwell on a flight to the national team a month ago and spent a few days in a hospital in Mali before flying to England for further checks. Mwepu, who scored three goals in 27 games for the club, wrote down Twitterhe had “lived his dream of the Premier League”.

“We are all devastated about Enock,” said Brighton club boss Tony Bloom in an official club statement: “He and his family have had a traumatic couple of weeks and although we are just grateful that he got through this time he has seen such a promising career cut short at such a young age.”

Graham Potter: “He Was Lucky”

Well, two days after Mwepu’s career end, Graham Potter also spoke up. Potter looked after the ex-Salzburger at Brighton until he finally switched to Chelsea. “It makes me very, very sad. Luckily it’s not as bad as it could have been because he was lucky. After all, he’s alive and well and we can all be grateful for that,” said the 47-year-old Briton who also attempted to contact Mwepu.

“He’s only 24 years old. If you can’t play football then you see things differently,” said Potter. “He’s a fantastic person. Whatever he does, he’ll succeed. But it’s a shame we won’t be seeing him on the pitch again.”

Mwepu made 119 competitive appearances for Red Bull Salzburg, scoring 18 goals and providing 20 assists. In a statement, Mwepu announced that he wanted to continue working in football.