Goal-Mouth Action podcast - episode 43 | Georginio Rutter and Joao Pedro decision made

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Derren Howard is joined by Brighton and Hove Albion writers Henry Bryant and Sam Morton as the Seagulls return to Premier League action against Ipswich Town at the Amex Stadium following the international break.
Transcript
00:00Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Goalmouth Action Podcast, where we
00:04take a look at all the latest goings-on at Brighton and Hove Albion. I'm Darren Howard
00:09and I'm joined by Brighton writers Sam Morton and Henry Bright. The Seagulls resume their
00:14Premier League campaign after the international break, having started very well with seven
00:19points from their first three matches, as well as progress in the Carabao Cup. Saturday
00:24they welcome Kieran McKenna's newly promoted Ipswich Town to the Amex Stadium for a 3pm
00:29kick-off. You can read all the stories we're talking about with videos and pictures online
00:34at sussexworld.co.uk and you can check out other great videos on shotstv.com at freeviewchannel262.
00:42You may also be watching on Latest TV, so thank you very much for tuning in. But Sam,
00:48so Ipswich Town at the Amex Stadium. We've had a good start for Brighton so far. Ipswich got off
00:54the mark in their game just prior to the international break with a 1-1 draw against
00:59Fulham, their first point since their promotion. What do you make of this match-up? It should be
01:04a good one, shouldn't it? Yeah, I think it's all set up to be a really good match actually,
01:07because obviously, as you mentioned, Brighton have had a brilliant start to the season with
01:10two wins against Everton and Manchester United, and then a really great draw or a great point,
01:16I should say, away at the Emirates. You might think that they could have got the win against
01:20ten men, but I think when you consider how much of a quality team Arsenal are, I think getting a
01:23point regardless is still brilliant for them. Ipswich couldn't have had really a much tougher
01:28start to their season in the Premier League with Liverpool in the opening game, and then
01:34Manchester City, and they had a bit of a nicer game against Fulham in the third game and managed
01:40to get a point there. But I've been impressed by Ipswich. I think even in the first game,
01:44they really did cause some problems for Liverpool, especially in that first half.
01:48They could have taken the lead on another day, and they really did make life difficult for
01:52Liverpool, who got those two quick five goals in the second half. They really did have to
01:57work hard for it. Then obviously against City, Ipswich did actually take the lead,
02:02but it didn't last long because of Erling Haaland, and I don't think many defences
02:05were as they had to stop him yet, so I don't think you can blame Ipswich too much for that.
02:10But I think, yeah, for Brighton, it's a game they'll be looking to win. Obviously,
02:13you get back to winning ways after that draw, and just continue their unbeaten start to the season.
02:18But this is the first league meeting between Brighton and Ipswich since a 1-1 draw in February
02:222017 in the Championship, and the first in the top flight since the 2-0 win for Ipswich in January
02:271983. Ipswich have won two of their last four away league games against Brighton, with those
02:33wins coming in March 2014 and December 2015. So yeah, obviously, a lot's changed since then.
02:39Brighton have obviously made brilliant strides to get to where they are right now
02:43and become really one of the top teams, one of the best teams to watch in the Premier League.
02:48But something that does bode well for Brighton, though, is they've lost just one of their last 13
02:51Premier League home games against newly promoted sides. So that is a stat that does bode well for
02:56Brighton, and it does suggest that Ipswich have got a big task on their hands. The Amex is not
03:00an easy place to win at, but I think it's all set up to be a really good match. Ipswich have,
03:05yeah, as I say, got nothing to lose, really, and they've been really unlucky with the start
03:09of the season. They've been dealt, and they'll be looking to cause an upset.
03:14Yeah, yeah, yeah. Two very young, up-and-coming managers, Henry. Obviously,
03:18Brighton were heavily linked, weren't they, with Kieran McKenna during the summer. I think talks
03:23progressed quite far, and then McKenna then, you know, decided to stick with Ipswich. He was
03:30offered a very good contract to stay with Ipswich, and he wanted to continue his work that he's done
03:35there. Brighton opted for Fabian Herzelo, and I think both sets of fans would be pleased with how
03:41things, you know, have worked out so far. But it's an interesting clash, isn't it, the two styles of
03:46manager there? Yeah, I think so. I think in terms of Kieran McKenna, he would have been a great fit
03:53for the Albion, and when those sort of rumours did come into fruition and things did look like
03:59they were going to be happening, I think a lot of Albion fans were excited to see what they,
04:04you know, what they were having on their hands there. I mean, Ipswich returned to the top
04:08flight after 22 years and becoming only the fifth club to earn back-to-back promotions into
04:14the Premier League following Watford, Man City, I should say, Southampton and Norwich. It's
04:21something, you know, that is such a rarity, and I think it just shows the beauty of the game in
04:28English football that, you know, there is that ability, although there's a lot of money, especially
04:32in that top six, there's still that ability to get into the Premier League and get your way in
04:37there, even with sort of limited funds and not the funds of sort of the big players in the Premier
04:43League or sort of in the leagues in general. So that's fantastic. And I think as a manager,
04:49I think that the way he's similar to Josella is the defensive sort of focus and making sure to
04:56sort of attack with long balls from what I've seen with McKenna and sort of just going all out
05:02of attack in that aspect of the game, same as Hurley, so when they do get opportunities. But
05:08in terms of the way that they play, it's not as attacking as the Zerby when he came to Brighton
05:17and he was doing an all-guns-blazing sort of approach, which worked really well for us
05:23in a lot of games, but other games maybe not, especially a big game. I think Albion's fans
05:28would agree with that would be when we lost quite heavily to Roma away. I think in that first leg,
05:35I think that was a big one where maybe if we'd set up our side a little bit differently,
05:40weren't as attacking and focused on that sort of defensive side of things as well, maybe getting a,
05:45you know, maybe a 1-0 loss or even a draw or just something to tide us over into that next game,
05:51we could have had a completely different story and even more of a fairytale run in the Europa
05:57League. But no, both managers are really quality and very balanced, level-headed. I think that
06:02they're quite diplomatic as well in their approach. They're quite good with the media
06:07and I think that this will be a really interesting match-up to see, obviously,
06:12with all the rumour mill going on and him not going to Brighton and signing a new deal to see
06:16what happens. See what happens. Yeah, no, for sure. And both managers have been backed, haven't
06:21they, in the transfer market. I read something recently that, you know, Brighton, where they
06:26spent massive, you know, £200 million in the summer window, the highest net spenders in the
06:32Premier League and I think surprisingly Ipswich were second. So, to see those two, you know,
06:37up there is quite remarkable. And one of the major players that Brighton brought in,
06:43Jorginho Rutter, he came on in the last 10 minutes or so against Arsenal. I think he
06:49might start this one because Jal Pedro, he played for Brazil in midweek and he's got a long flight
06:56back from Paraguay after their World Cup qualifier. Do you think Rutter's, with bearing
07:03that in mind, Sam, do you think Rutter will start against Ipswich? I think everything does point to
07:08a fair start for Rutter, actually, in this game. You consider, as you mentioned, that jet lag for
07:11Pedro, I would be surprised. And this just goes to show the importance of squad depth, really,
07:16and this is why Brighton smashed the cash in the summer, to make sure their squad is as deep as it
07:20can be. Because that was one problem last season, was when they had some star players out, it was a
07:25real challenge to try and replace them and to still play at the same level despite having so
07:29many players out injured. And I don't anticipate that being such a problem, barring a disaster of
07:34everyone just getting injured at the same time. But I feel like they are really well positioned
07:39now to challenge on all fronts and having someone like Georginio Rutter to come in for his first
07:45start is brilliant, really. And obviously, you've still got Evan Ferguson to come back, who obviously
07:49made an appearance for the Republic of Ireland after a long injury. He'll be looking to get
07:55back to what he was doing before his injury and start scoring goals again. But I think this is
08:00a game for Rutter and I'm really excited to see what he can do in his first start because he netted
08:06eight goals and claimed an impressive 16 assists for Leeds last season. He was brilliant in the
08:12Championship. One of my mates is a Leeds fan and he was among those absolutely gutted that he was
08:16leaving. He just said about how he just brings the fans off their seats and really excites the home
08:22crowd. I think he's quite a talent in that. There's not many players who can really do that and I've
08:29not heard such praise for one player in terms of just how much they can excite fans just when they
08:34get on the ball and you kind of have that sense of anticipation of what he's going to do next kind
08:38of thing. So, I think that really does bode well and I hope he has a good start in Brighton
08:44Shirts. Obviously, we've seen him in a couple of substitute appearances but we've not seen anywhere
08:47near the best of him yet. So, I'm really excited to see what he can do. Yeah, me too, me too. I think
08:53it could be a good chance for him because I think Pedro, he will be jet-lagged, Henry, and Pedro has
08:58been so impressive playing in that number 10 role just behind Danny Welbeck. I think Rutter
09:03can just slot in there quite nicely, can't he? Link the play with perhaps Matoma and Minta
09:09on the flanks as well and that could be a very good option, couldn't it, for Brighton?
09:16Definitely, it's a really tasty option to be fair because of the goal contributions he got in the
09:21championship last season and I think with the likes of Jal Pedro, you know, maybe being a miss
09:27at times because of the amount of game time that will be played and the fact that he's going to be
09:31becoming a more sort of prominent international player now for Brazil, it looks like Rutter is
09:37going to get a lot of opportunities here to play in that number 10 role and to actually help the
09:43attack and just fully get into fruition and to make sure that we keep ourselves firing in all
09:50cylinders and it's great to see that we're making these sort of transfers where, although it's not
09:56the money that we're usually used to spending, we're still in that transfer window, the summer
10:00transfer window, buying players that are under 25 years of age all in all, which is fantastic to
10:06see and from what Paul Barber had said, he's just building on what they've already gained and being
10:13able to restock with the money that they've been able to sort of recuperate from the
10:19sign-ins and departures as well, so it's really good to see that we've been able to do that. I
10:25think Rutter is a really, really quality player. I think he's that added bit of magic that we've
10:31seen, very similar to the likes of Matoma on the wings. I think he can do the same in that number
10:3610 role and just jink past a few players and open up the space for us a lot more and the
10:42depth of the squad now is really showing and it's fantastic to see that we've got the likes of him,
10:48who's been really, really good in the championship and will do the business, I'm sure.
10:54Yeah, definitely and just going back to that game that Pedro played in for Brazil, he was
11:00called up to the Brazil national team, played against Paraguay on Wednesday night, UK time.
11:07He played the whole of the second half but also Julio Anciso played for Paraguay in that match
11:13and Diego Gomez, the midfielder that they're hoping to sign from Inter Miami in January,
11:19he scored the winning goal in that game. Did you see that goal, Sam? It was a great strike,
11:26wasn't it? It looks like another great player that Brighton are going to bring in for about 12
11:31minutes. Yeah, it's incredible really. They seem to just unearth these players all the time,
11:35doesn't it? It's quite amazing in a game between Paraguay and Brazil, you've got so many bright
11:39players on show really. I think that's so unusual, isn't it? But it was a really great strike and
11:46maybe a sign of things to come for Brighton and hopefully you can get that deal over the
11:50line and join up in January and just can add to those attacking options that Brighton have.
11:56It'd be interesting to see if he does complete that move in January, whether he might
11:59potentially sign straight away or maybe just go out on loan. I think Brighton obviously do like
12:05to do that, they kind of sign players and then send them out on loan to make sure they are playing
12:10enough minutes really because the last thing you want is them to come in and just sit on the bench
12:14and to kind of lose that momentum that they've built up before signing. So,
12:17time will tell kind of what happens there. But I think it's another promising move that Brighton
12:23could be making and all the signs look good in that sense. I mean, he's been speaking on the
12:30move and 21-year-old previously said it's a dream come true for him and all of his family who've
12:34always supported me. He's been talking with Judo and Siso and he always loves watching Brighton
12:38games and he loves watching the Premier League. So, I think it's an exciting move for the player
12:42and the club. So, yeah, fingers crossed it will go smoothly.
12:46Yeah, one to keep an eye on especially and perhaps with the injuries to O'Reilly with
12:50Pascal Groske and Billy Gilmore going, he could be one that could stay, come in and really make
12:57an impact in the second half of the season. But yeah, join us after the break and we'll be looking
13:02at Brighton's next run of fixtures, their injury list, which we're hoping to get some of their
13:08players back and also take a look at Jean-Paul van Gecke who made his debut for Holland in midweek.
13:16Okay, welcome back. As we mentioned, Brighton, they resume their Premier League campaign after
13:22the international break at home against Ipswich Town. They then got a run of six games which
13:29could sort of make a real impact on the rest of their season after a great start for Fabian
13:34Hersella. They've got Wolves at home in a Carabao Cup, then Forest at home in the Premier League,
13:40then Chelsea away, always a good one, Tottenham at home, Newcastle away and then Wolves at home.
13:48So, the next six games, Henry, that's, it's a good test, isn't it? They've had some, you know,
13:55they've had Everton, Man United, Arsenal already, but these are the games where it really gets going
14:00now, doesn't it? Yeah, it really does. I think that the big one for us is going to be that Chelsea
14:06away at Stamford Bridge. I think that with the sort of new rivalry of Brighton and Chelsea, this
14:13is going to be another one of those really dirty games where you just, you just know there's going
14:18to be some fireworks, you know there's going to be a little bit of agony. I mean, Hersella's already
14:22got himself a yellow card, you know, in the Premier League. So, we know he's up for it,
14:27we know he's up for it because we, I think from a Brighton fan's perspective, because we had
14:32Deserby and he was quite a, you know, an aggressive manager on that touchline. I think that we thought
14:38who's going to fill those shoes, who's going to be there and still have that same sort of little
14:42embers of aggression that we sort of enjoyed as we watched Deserby on the touchline. I think
14:48Hersella's actually got that. So, I think we'll be giving it some. I think that we'll actually be
14:53quite attacking in that game because we know we can score against Chelsea, we know we can do well
14:58against them. I think that's a massive one for us and if we're even able to get a point there,
15:04that would be fantastic. And home again to Spurs, a lot of home games sort of in this running and
15:10I think that uniform, as we've spoken about, the fact that Brighton are so solid at home
15:16will be a testament to us in these games if we are able to get it over the line.
15:22And then that away fixture sort of a little later on to Liverpool, another one of those games where
15:28we don't want to shy away. I mean, we know how they can play Liverpool and they're looking good
15:34this season. I mean, they really did put Man United away, didn't they? We thought that we
15:38played quite well against United. Well, I'm not quite sure whether it was us playing well or Man
15:43United not going to their best, but they really did put them away, Liverpool. So, I think that
15:49in terms of that game, that would be a massive one for us and another game where you just want
15:54to test sort of Hurlitz's chin almost in terms of the way that we're able to deal with hardship,
16:00the way we might be dealing with a few sort of bad results there. It might be a two or three-nil
16:06that one and how we sort of progress after that. Yeah, yeah. He is quite lively on the touchline
16:12actually, isn't he, Sam Hurlitz? I'm sure he'll be looking forward to these next run of games.
16:16I don't think he's quite in deserby territory. I remember watching deserby, I was in the press
16:22box, which is just by the dugout and it was just like a simple, towards the back end of the last
16:26season, it was a simple misplaced pass by one of the lads and he was like jumping. He actually like
16:32took his watch off. He ripped his watch off his wrist and then threw his watch to the floor and
16:36started jumping and you just think that was just like one misplaced pass. I don't think Hurlitz
16:41is quite in that territory, but yeah, he has been booked and he had quite a number of yellow
16:46cards for St Pauli last season as well. What do you make of those next six fixtures, Sam, anyway?
16:55Yeah, it's a real good run of fixtures, I think, for Brighton. I think that they can really
17:01build on the start of the season they've had, obviously with two home games in a row now,
17:05obviously against Zip Switch and Nottingham Forest. That's two games they should be winning
17:09really and obviously have got that Cowboy Cup game in between against Wolverhampton Wanderers,
17:13which is obviously, again, I don't think the fans are too pleased with on either side because
17:18he used to be one that keeps popping up every season and I think the Wolves especially having
17:23to travel to Brighton on a Wednesday night isn't ideal for them at all. I think
17:28three home games in a row in all competitions is good for Brighton to build on that start of the
17:32season and now they've had that break, obviously in the international break, I think they can
17:36definitely come back recharged and hopefully get some of these injured players back as well.
17:41Then obviously they've got that trip to Chelsea, as mentioned, I think that's,
17:44as Henry said, obviously going to be a brilliant game between, yeah, it's a real heated one,
17:49I would imagine, obviously with the local, with the kind of the rivalry that has been in recent
17:53years really, obviously the transfers and managers that have gone and there's lots of
17:58kind of fire behind that, so I think it should be a really good game. But yeah, I think it's a
18:03nice run of fixtures for Brighton to build on that start of the season they've had and I think
18:07Jose will be happy with those games coming up and as you've mentioned, really, he's made a
18:13brilliant start and he has got that fire to him, as you mentioned, I think there was that incident
18:17against Crawley Town where he got booked as well, so two bookings already for him, but I think...
18:22Yeah, he got booked against Crawley as well, didn't he?
18:24Yeah, I think two yellow cards in two games, wasn't it? So I think he'll probably look to
18:29ease up a little bit because he doesn't want to get too many yellow cards and risk fines and
18:34suspensions and things like that, but I think, yeah, it's been a brilliant start for Brighton
18:37and I hope it continues.
18:39Yeah, yeah. I did a piece on the injured players, sort of, just during the international break and
18:44the ones that hopefully will be coming back, so at the moment they've got Joel Veltman,
18:49he injured his thigh after his eventful game at Arsenal and then we've got James Milner,
18:57he also pulled up with a hamstring injury as well. Some of the new signings as well,
19:02Katagouli, they've got Brajan Grota, who's the other one? There's Mats Wiffer, he's struggling
19:09as well, isn't he? Especially in that midfield area. So, yeah, do you think they'll be coming
19:17back, Henry? And if so, what sort of difference do you think those sort of players are going to
19:22make? Because the bulk of them are, you know, a lot of their new signings, aren't they? Which
19:25we haven't really seen yet.
19:27Yeah, well, they have got a few knocks, as Herlitz has said, a few unspecified injuries
19:32here and there and also we haven't seen that Katagouli signing getting his minutes just yet,
19:39whether that's sort of off the bench for this game or not. We'll see. But there's quite a few
19:46doubts really with all of these new players and it might be another one of those cases where we've got
19:52Ayari and Baliba in that midfield again, with the likes of James Milner as well sort of injured and
19:59not quite sure whether he'll be back for this one. Yeah, quite a few doubts. And Mats Wiffer as well,
20:05we did get to see a few bits of him and I think that although sort of when he did
20:10get his chances that he wasn't the most sort of relaxed because he was, you know,
20:16it was his first time in the Premier League. His debut, yeah, so Everton, Goodison Park,
20:20it was pretty tense, yeah. Yeah, it's a tough place to go because we know how
20:26passionate those Everton fans are. But in terms of the way that he dealt with it afterwards,
20:31I think that he overall, you know, had a good spell on his debut and I think it'd be great to
20:37see him back. I think that a lot of these players will be coming on as substitutes because I feel
20:43like Herlitz doesn't want to sort of push the boat out too early, especially if that means that
20:48if he were to bring them on or have them start, you know, that it might risk an injury that goes
20:53on for longer. And I think that Matt O'Reilly, I feel so sorry for him, isn't it? Yeah, sorry for
20:59him. I mean, my dad and I were watching that and we both just looked at each other and went,
21:04well, he's out till Christmas. Yeah, I think you're right. I think it is. I think New Year,
21:09they've sort of tentatively said, yeah. Yeah, so it's a big blow, but it's like we've got this
21:15massive load of sort of new signings in the midfield and the attacking midfield that we've
21:19got at our disposal, but they've just got a few knocks and a few bumps there. But I think if we
21:24were able to see the likes of Cagliogli or maybe Wiffer come on from the bench, come off from the
21:30bench, I think that'd be fantastic and it'd be good to see. And also that Gruda from Mainz looks
21:36good as well. So it'd be interesting to see how he looks and how he sort of comes into play and
21:42how he's used by Herletta when he is in the squad. Yeah, yeah. Now, hopefully we'll get a
21:47chance to see some of those in these next, next run of matches. Just a quick one on Joel Veltman,
21:53Sam. If he is injured, do you think Tarek Lamptey could come in for his first Premier League start?
21:59He's just sort of coming back to fitness, isn't he, Lamptey? Yes. Yeah, I think it's a strange
22:05one, wasn't it? Because Lamptey wasn't really that involved in pre-season. We didn't really
22:08hear much about it. It wasn't really much talk of why he wasn't there and what the problem was.
22:12He played his first game on the Japan tour. I think he played the first half and then that
22:16was it. That was it. We didn't see him after that. Yeah. So I think, yeah, he'll be working
22:21his way back to full fitness. And there was talk of him maybe leaving the club. So I think he's
22:27still got a lot to prove and why he should still stay. Because when he first came on the scene,
22:31he was so exciting, wasn't he? He really was. And there's still that player there. But I think
22:38he just hasn't shown that as much in the last couple of seasons. I think as Brighton have built
22:44their squad and brought more players in, he kind of has fallen away a little bit. So I really hope
22:49we can see the best of him again in a Brighton shirt. And if Feltman is out, this is a good
22:54opportunity for Lamptey to come in and show what he can do and try and make himself on
22:59the dropping ball, really. That's what he needs to do. And I feel like if it doesn't happen this
23:02season, then I wouldn't be too surprised to see him move on, either January or in the summer.
23:07But I hope it doesn't come to that, really. I think I've seen some brilliant things from him
23:11over the years, and I'd love to see more of that. And, yeah, fingers crossed. He does get
23:15running games and he can build up his form. Yeah, yeah. You're at the Emirates, Sam. What
23:20did you make of all that Joel Feltman stuff? It seemed to rumble on, didn't it, throughout the
23:25international break. Gary Lineker said it was utter nonsense. The Premier League review panel
23:31said that referee Chris Kavanagh was correct to send off Declan Rice for a second yellow.
23:40Feltman's wife chipped in and just said that the way the pundits are calling out Feltman,
23:46could potentially be quite dangerous for him, with how the backlash was on social media.
23:51Yeah, I think the problem was it was obviously one of the last games before the international
23:55break, wasn't it? It's kind of that incident that sticks in everyone's minds, really, now the club
23:59season has paused for a week or so. And it's that incident that kind of everyone's talking about,
24:05really. And I think that does seem to happen if there's no more games to kind of wipe everyone's
24:11memory of it, really. And, yeah, it was a bizarre one, obviously, being in the stadium at the time.
24:16I think I mentioned last week that it appeared that Feltman was going to be sent off for kicking
24:20out Declan Rice. And then you kind of had that bit of confusion of what was happening and you
24:23saw the replay and you kind of got a bit more of an understanding of what was going on. But, yeah,
24:28I think, yeah, it's one of those weird instances. You can kind of see both sides of the argument,
24:31really. You can kind of understand Arsenal's frustration, the kind of lack of consistency
24:36after Joao Pedro kicked the ball away in the first half and wasn't penalised for it. And I feel like
24:41that just adds to it, really, adds to the tension, adds to the frustration over the red card that
24:47obviously was a huge turning point in the match. But, yeah, I think obviously pundits are perfectly
24:51entitled to have their say and to say what they think should have happened. But, yeah, maybe it
24:57can go too far. I think, yeah, I see both sides. Feltman probably was a little bit lucky that he
25:02wasn't booked for what he did and he was probably a little bit clever in the way that he got Declan
25:07Rice sent off. But, yeah, the referee made the decision and it's being backed up by the panel
25:12as well. So, I think that's probably case closed and probably, yeah, nothing more needs to be said
25:18about it. I'm sure there'll be some more controversial instances at the weekend coming
25:22up that will probably be quickly forgotten about. So, yeah, so I think obviously Declan Rice will be,
25:29will be, I'm sure, very frustrated he's going to have to miss a game because...
25:33Tottenham game as well, isn't it?
25:35Big game, yeah, big game for Arsenal. He's really gutted to be missing that. So,
25:39yeah, I think it's an interesting one. I think I do agree with Joel Feltman's
25:44partner's comments as well. I think, yeah, I think sometimes it can go a little bit too far.
25:49Yeah, I agree. I agree. Yeah, just one quickly I wanted to touch on as well.
25:53Jan-Paul van Geck, he made his, in the international break, he made his
25:57debut for Holland against Germany. He did very well. He was mentioning about undroppable, Sam.
26:04I think he is, isn't he, Henry? He's just been so good. I said at the start of the season that he
26:11could probably be one of the best defenders in the Premier League this year and he just looks
26:17so in control of his game at the moment, doesn't he? He's still relatively young for that position.
26:22Yeah, it's fantastic to see the progression that he's had. I mean, at the age of 24,
26:27he's, you know, making his debut and he said at the time that he had no time for nerves
26:34and he came on at half-time replacing De Ligt and they were trailing 2-1. Dennis
26:41actually scored one of those German goals and it ended up being 2-1. So, it was fantastic to see
26:49that he was actually, if you technically think about it, able to keep a clean sheet for that
26:53half. But no, he's been quality for the Albion and I think that he's got a good mentor in Louis
26:59Dunk and even Joel Veltman as well. The fact that he's got two very experienced defenders that's
27:07probably been able to help him out along the way, especially during training,
27:11I think is really nice to see. And just that way that he's been able to dominate that defence and
27:19be in fully control when he even, you know, he looks so young, he looks so young, but he's able
27:24to do that. It's fantastic. He's undroppable. He is concrete. He's in there. He's, yeah,
27:32he's strong as an ox. And it's just nice to see that he's so familiarised with the Premier League
27:38now and that Albion's sort of ways of working, of training these young players and making them into,
27:45you know, players with lots of potential established and still at a young age. It's
27:51great to see. And I think that, you know, he will be one of the best in the Premier League
27:56this season. And I think that it will be another one of those cases where he'll perform well
28:01and we'll have other clubs knocking at the door come next summer.
28:04Yeah. Yeah. I don't think it would be long. And they picked him up for nothing, didn't they? He
28:08had a loan at Blackburn and he's really, really developed well at Brighton. And there's a strong
28:13Dutch link now, isn't it? You've got Verbruggen in goal, Van Hecker, Veltman and now Matt Swiffer in
28:19the midfield there. So I imagine Ronald Koopman will be at the Amex quite a few times this season.
28:25But yeah, well, thanks. Thanks for joining us, Henry. And thanks. Thanks for joining us as well,
28:30Sam. Great to catch up. And you can catch up with all the latest sports news covering everything
28:36we've talked about today at sussexworld.co.uk. And you can watch more excellent videos on
28:41shotstv.com and Freeview channel 262. Thanks, guys.

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