'I'm far away' - Bart Verbruggen gives intriguing response after Fabian Hurzeler makes big claim about Brighton goalkeeper

After a season of rotation with Jason Steele, Verbruggen has become Albion’s first choice goalkeeper under Hurzeler.

After Brighton’s dip in form, Verbruggen received some criticism from fans but was back to his best in the win over West Ham – and he made a vital save late on to secure his team’s 1-1 draw against Newcastle.

The Dutchman, 22, had two contenders for the Premier League save of the month award for April – against Crystal Palace and Leicester.

Hurzeler subsequently told reporters his goalkeeper had the potential to be ‘one of the best goalkeepers in the world’.

Verbruggen was asked about that remark after the Newcastle draw on Sunday (May 4).

He said: “I don't really watch the news, but it's nice to hear of course, I really appreciate the trust he puts in me.

"I think I've learned already a lot from him in this season in general, but I know my potential, I know my quality.

"I also know that I'm far away from what I can be, so I just have to keep my head down and work hard and just try to become the best version of me and where that ends me, we'll see.

"I'm 22 now, I've just played over 100 games of professional football and I just feel that there's so much more in me in terms of potential because there's so much more stuff that I can learn about the game, about being a goalie, about being an athlete outside of the pitch.

"So there's so much more to learn and that's exciting for me because that shows that there's so much more knowledge to get and like I said, that's just really exciting and I just want to become the best version of myself and where that brings me, we'll see.”

Verbruggen didn’t have a huge amount of work to do against Champions League-chasing Newcastle – but had to stay alert to make a fine save from Callum Wilson in the sixth minute of injury-time.

The keeper said: “I think the fact that you don't have to do a lot as a goalie shows that you play for a good team.

"To be able to help the team when the team needs you can be challenging if you don't get a lot of work but at the end of the day that's what you're there for.

"It's my job to stay focused and stay concentrated and be there when the team needs me so I'm happy I was able to do that today.

“At the end I think of course we were disappointed that we were not winning anymore, so we wanted to try and get back winning, but they just scored the equaliser and maybe thought, okay we can do some more, so the game opened up a bit.

"That's always dangerous as well, so you have to be really careful in the defence and show good reactions when we lose the ball and don't get overexcited to score the winner, which I think the boys did pretty well.

"Both teams got chances and yeah, the team needed me and luckily I was able to save it.”

Brighton’s hopes of playing in Europe next season took a blow as Alexander Isak scored an 89th penalty to earn Newcastle a point from an entertaining Premier League.

Yankuba Minteh’s first-half strike against his former team looked like it was going to earn Albion a crucial three points in their quest to finish eighth – and have a chance of playing in next season’s UEFA Conference League.

It seemed luck was on Brighton’s side after VAR twice intervened – when referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot on two occasions.

Newcastle were not to be denied a penalty at the third time of asking though.

Alexander Isak levelled the scoring from 12 yards on the 89th minute after Yasin Ayari used his hand to block a goal-bound free-kick.

Assessing the performance and result, Verbruggen said: “[There is a feeling of] disappointment.

"I think if they equalise in the 88th minute, you're always going to be disappointed. That's the main feeling.

“I think we did good, but I think there's also a lot that we could have done a bit better to give us a better chance to win the game, but we'll see it and analyse it and try and do better next time.

“It's a very close battle for that eighth place, and we just have to try and win every game. Of course today we can be disappointed, tomorrow as well, but then after we have to look forward and focus on the next game.”

On the VAR drama, he added: “Well, they [first two decisions] went our way, so it wasn't really frustrating for us, but I don't know, I've not seen the handball yet, but if he decides it after VAR then I believe that's handball, I don't know, I haven't seen it.”