Alireza Jahanbakhsh has ended his three-year spell at Brighton and returned to the Netherlands to join Feyenoord on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

The 27-year-old joined the Seagulls in July 2018 and made 61 appearances, scoring four goals.

He now returns to the Netherlands, to link up with the Rotterdam outfit, who will be hoping he can rediscover the form which saw Brighton bring him over to England for a record club transfer fee.

In his first spell in Eredivisie with NEC and AZ Alkmaar, Jahanbakhsh made 112 appearances, scoring 39 goals and picking 31 assists in the process.

Brighton head coach Graham Potter said: “Ali has been a very good professional and great to work with, but this move is a good one and gives him the chance of more regular game time, which is not something we are able to guarantee.

“I’d like to thank Ali for his hard work during my time here and wish him all the best for the future.”

Jahanbakhsh will wear the number nine shirt for Feyenoord, which has previously been sported by club legends such as Henrik Larsson, Julio Cruz, Graziano Pelle, Roy Makaay, and Pierre van Hooijdonk to name just some.

Alireza Jahanbakhsh has revealed the key role Feyenoord manager Arne Slot played in him returning to the Netherlands.

Slot was assistant manager at AZ Alkmaar to John van den Brom during Jahanbakhsh’s time at the club.

But the Iranian international revealed that when Slot expressed his interest in signing him for Feyenoord, he was determined to make the move happen.

He told the club’s official website: “During my time at AZ as an assistant coach, Arne Slot was one of the people who helped me to become a better player. So when he called and asked if I wanted to come to Feyenoord, I told him I was going to do everything I could to make this transfer. I had no doubts.”

Feyenoord’s sporting director Frank Arnesen believes Jahanbakhsh could become a valuable player for them.

He said: ‘With Alireza we add the desired offensive reinforcement to the selection. A player who has proven to achieve a high return for several seasons. Moreover, he is now in the phase of his career where he can quickly be of enormous added value to us.”