'You cannot get the ball off him' - Brighton's record-breaking talent and ex-Liverpool target hailed by Netherlands international

The former Ajax player has 28 caps for his country and regularly played Champions League football throughput his career - reaching the semi-finals in 2019 where they beaten in a dramatic showdown with Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham.

Veltman has been a key man for Albion since his £900,000 arrival in 2020 and his experience, versatility and composed play is set to help Graham Potter's team to their highest ever Premier League finish.

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Despite some poor recent results, there have been plenty of memorable moments this season but one that could prove very significant arrived during a painful 3-0 home loss to Burnley last week.

Striker Evan Ferguson, 17, made his Premier League debut as he was introduced on 68 minutes for Danny Welbeck - and in doing so the Republic of Ireland Under-21 international became the youngest player to represent the club in the top flight.

Veltman has been impressed with the impact Ferguson has made and admits the striker - who was once tipped with a move to Liverpool - is a real handful in training.

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“There’s lots more to come from Evan,” said Veltman. “His physicality is like he's already 28 – he’s strong. I have played a couple of times against him on the training ground.

"He is really good at holding up the ball, so I need to be smart and get in front of him and take the ball from him. But he uses his body well and when he has the ball you cannot get it from him.

“Hopefully there will be many goals for him, he's doing great and is a good talent.”

Veltman believes he also has the character to deal with the hype and fuss that surrounds the Pemier League.

“He’s a really nice guy as well, I hope we see a lot more minutes for him this season.

“He is really down to earth and that's what I like, as I like to think I'm also a little bit like that.

“It doesn’t seem that outside factors bothers him. So he is just doing his thing, working really hard on the training pitch and, as a young player, you need to keep doing that.”

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