'Just like David Beckham' - Ex-Arsenal and England star explains the brilliance of Kaoru Mitoma

Lee Dixon was speaking on ITV4 ahead of Brighton's FA Cup fifth round tie at Stoke City and delivered the highest praise to the Albion winger.

Mitoma, 25, has been excellent during his first season in the Premier League has has been a key man in Brighton's push for European qualification.

His arrival is yet another feather in the cap of Brighton's recruitment department as he signed for around £2m from Kawasaki Frontale in 2021.

The Japan World Cup star has made the step-up to the Premier League appear easy and has filled the void on the Albion left flank after Leo Trossard's £22m move to Arsenal.

Dixon has been hugely impressed with Brighton's latest star and compared him to one of the finest midfielders of the modern era.

"He's very difficult to work out," said Dixon. "He likes to run with it so you get tight and stop the ball in his feet and stop his supply line. But because he's so good at making the decision before the full-back has got there, so if he has space he does not have to beat you.

"[David] Beckham was the same. You can't get near Beckham because he had already seen the pass. A couple of crosses [Mitoma] knocked in [against Liverpool] he got them early. And as a full-back he are caught between the two. You can't close him down because you know he's going to whip it in, so you end up sitting off him. But then he gets space and he runs at you. So his decision making is probably his biggest asset.”