Brighton boss makes Tariq Lamptey admission as former club Chelsea complete right back transfer

Tariq Lamptey of Brighton & Hove Albion is battling for a place in the starting XI

Former Chelsea defender Tariq Lamptey is pushing his way back into first team contention at Brighton – as his old club Chelsea complete a £30m deal with Lyon for young right back Malo Gusto

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi insists Tariq Lamptey remains an important figure at the club despite his lack of game time this season.

Lamptey, 22, joined Brighton from Chelsea in 2020 for around £3m in search of regular minutes in the Premier League. His path at Chelsea was blocked then by the emergence of Reece James and also the experienced César Azpilicueta.

Lamptey’s career soon took-off at Brighton under then boss Graham Potter but a serious hamstring injury halted his rapid progress. He has since struggled to nail down his spot in an impressive Brighton team and Potter’s exit to Chelsea also didn’t help.

New head coach De Zerbi is often quick to praise Lamptey but he tends to go for the experience of Joel Veltman or Pascal Gross at right back. Lamptey started in the Premier League against Arsenal, which ended in a 4-2 home loss and he has also featured in the Carabao – scoring at Arsenal – and the FA Cup. He also impressed from the bench in the previous league match, a 2-2 draw at Leicester last weekend.

A few tentative transfer rumour arrived this week with Wolves, Sporting Lisbon and Lyon all said to be keen on the Ghana international – with Lyon now looking to add to their right side after Malo Gusto agreed to a £30m to Chelsea.

Lamptey could be forgiven for wondering what may have unfolded had he stayed at Chelsea, especially now Potter – a manager who demonstrated great belief in him from the start – is now at the Bridge.

De Zerbi however insists his young wing-back can continue to progress with the Seagulls. “Tariq is an important player for me,” said De Zerbi. “OK he’s not playing a lot. But he’s still a very important player. We are (making) progress in terms of squad, in terms of players. To play in the first XI in Brighton, it’s difficult to find a place to play.

“In his position, full-back, we have Lamptey but we have (Joel) Veltman, another very good player. We discovered Pascal Gross (can play full-back). I want him to stay with us. He has to keep patient, and his moment to play will arrive for sure.

“He played against Arsenal. It was a very important game, very difficult game. And for this, I showed I have a confidence in him. But the decision of the first XI can change depending on the opponent, depending on the moment, how I imagine the game.”

Meanwhile at Chelsea, France under-21 right-back Gusto will finish the season on loan at Lyon where he has established himself as an attacking full-back since coming through the youth ranks. Gusto has made 54 appearances for his hometown club and Chelsea view him as long-term competition for Reece James.

Gusto described himself as a “box-to-box” player in a short video on Chelsea’s website. “I choose Chelsea because it’s a big club and I like the project,” he said. “I’m very happy to be here.”

With Graham Potter’s side still struggling with an extensive injury list, Chelsea have already signed Mykhaylo Mudryk, David Datro Fofana, Benoit Badiashile, Noni Madueke and Andrey Santos on permanent deals and brought in Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid this month. Gusto is the 16th first-team signing since Todd Boehly bought the club last year, with spending now over the £400million mark.