Former Jamaica youth international Jevani Brown, the club’s top scorer, will not play in Exeter City’s English League One home clash with Charlton Athletic on Saturday owing to a “club disciplinary matter.”
The 28-year-old has netted 14 goals this season, provided a further nine assists and has the second-highest level of goal contributions in League One, the third tier of English football.
Brown had been the subject of a bid from rivals Portsmouth on the final day of the January transfer window which had been turned down by Exeter, a Devon club nicknamed the Grecians.
Exeter said Brown did not train with the team on Friday.
On Thursday, Exeter manager Gary Caldwell said both Brown and teammate Josh Key – for whom the club had also received a transfer bid – were “fully committed and ready to give everything for the club until the end of the season”.
Caldwell had added. “We value Jevani very highly. He is a player that has the second highest goal contributions in the league this season and has really thrived at this level and shows his quality every week – as he did last week at MK Dons [where Brown scored both goals in a 2-0 win].
Brown, who joined Exeter from League Two club Colchester United in June 2021, made five appearances for Jamaica Under-17s in 2011 and was set to make his senior debut for the Reggae Boyz last year after being called up to represent Jamaica at a four-team tournament in Austria, but surprised his club by returning to Exeter without playing.
According to Exeter’s assistant manager, Wayne Carlisle, the Austria itinerary “wasn’t going to match up with what he [Brown] needed and give him game time so they came to an agreement with the [Jamaican] federation to come back”, adding: “He is enjoying his time at Exeter and when it didn’t join up with what he wanted, he put in the request to come back.”
Exeter, currently lying tenth in the table after winning promotion from League Two last season, declined to comment further on the nature of the disciplinary matter involving Brown when approached by media.
-CMC
