Brighton bargain striker Maupay is paying dividends

BRIGHTON boss Graham Potter reckons striker Neal Maupay has proved to be an absolute bargain at £16million – given the money Brentford are selling players for now.

Maupay’s fee from the Bees in August 2019, before add-ons, looks a steal after the canny West Londoners sold Ollie Watkins to Aston Villa for £33m last month and then sent Said Benrahma to West Ham on loan with an obligation to buy for up to £30m.

When Maupay (below) arrived on the South Coast, some people felt Brighton had taken a gamble on a player who had never played in the top flight.

And even though he scored a creditable 10 Premier League goals last season there were doubts over his strike rate. But Potter always said Maupay, 24, would improve and he has banged in four already this campaign.

So do Brighton look back and think they got a pretty good deal? “We certainly thought so, even at the time,” said Potter. “We believed in Neal when we signed him, we believe in Neal now. He’s got a long way to go in terms of reaching his full potential but that’s exciting. We’re happy with him.”

The question is whether Maupay, who scored 41 goals in two years at the Bees, can go on to score 20 each season like the really big guns in the Premier League.

Potter said: “There will be bumps along the way, I’m sure, but he’s started well.”