POTTER: LAMPTEY NEEDS TIME TO SHINE

BRIGHTON boss Graham Potter has urged teenager Tariq Lamptey to be given time.

Lamptey, who joined from Chelsea for £3million in January, has been outstanding, destroying teams with his pace at right-back and on the wing.

But Potter (right) says the 19-year-old has much to learn, and may not start tonight against Manchester City over burn out fears. He said: “While he will know he’s had a good start with us, he’s got a lot to do as well to make the most out of his career.

“We’re happy he’s here and we’ll try our best to help him.

“He plays with an intensity. He’s a young guy, so we have to be careful with him and watch him and monitor him.

“You don’t want to throw him into the deep, sink or swim type of thing. We need to make sure he’s OK. He covers some ground at high speed which has an implication in terms of recovery time, which we have to be wary of.”

Lamptey, who is only 5ft 3in tall, made his senior debut for Chelsea as a substitute in a 2-1 win against Arsenal in the Premier League in December.

But he had been on

Brighton’s radar for much longer having been in England’s squad at the 2019 Under-19 Euros. Potter added: “We had been aware of him for a while. He had played in the 23s a lot and it’s the job of the guys in the recruitment department to be aware of everybody.

“You could see the qualities he had at that level and you wanted to see if he could transfer into the Premier League. He’s a really good player that wants to be a footballer, that wants to improve, learn and develop.”