That’s according to his former coach Jelle ten Rouwelaar, who has insisted he cannot be given credit for the youngster’s rapid rise.

Verbruggen is currently shining for Brighton and the Netherlands, after joining the Seagulls in a €20m deal from Anderlecht in the summer.

He had been with the Belgian side for three years after joining them in 2020 but really came to the fore last season, establishing himself as the number one midway through the campaign with a series of impressive performances.

He finished the campaign with just 45 goals conceded in 45 games in all competitions and 13 clean sheets, enough to convince Brighton to spend big to bring him to the Premier League.

He’s since been battling with Jason Steele for the number one spot but has earned praise for his displays and a subsequent call-up to the Netherlands squad, where he now appears to have won the battle to be number one under Ronald Koeman.

It’s been a rapid rise for the 21-year-old, who appears to have a bright future ahead of him, something Rouwelaar and several other coaches saw from an early age.

“Craig Bellamy was coaching Anderlecht’s U23s and I remember that he saw him play, then came up to me and said: ‘Wow! This one is really good’. He was full of praise, just like Vincent Kompany,” he told Algemeen Dagblad, relayed by Walfoot.

“Shortly afterwards, Bart joined the senior team due to injuries. And now he’s number 1 in the Netherlands.

“But I didn’t discover him on my own. Bart grew up on his own, so I shouldn’t exaggerate my role.”

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That’s according to BILD, who relay a funny and unfortunate story involving the Brighton man and some of his Germany teammates, who found themselves caught up in ‘chaos’ this week.

The newspaper explains that the Germany squad met up for a ‘harmless team building exercise’ this week that ended up in a ‘full red flag’.

The group had planned a harmless evening out as a group on Thursday evening, heading to an Italian steakhouse chosen by Eintracht Frankfurt goalkeeper Kevin Trapp.

At 8:05pm they entered the restaurant before spending two hours enjoying themselves and generally relaxing before their clash with Turkey.

But ‘then things got strange’. The team bus arrived to collect the group but five of them, including Brighton’s Groß, left through the side entrance.

Rather than getting the bus they headed for a waiting taxi but were then met with ‘constant, blaring honking’ coming from the vehicle that the driver couldn’t stop.

This went on for so long and caused such a fuss that the local residents came out of their houses to watch and film the ‘strange scenario’ and the unfortunate drivers’ attempts to rectify the situation.

In the interim, the rest of the team emerge and get on the bus before taking off without their teammates. Cue ‘emergency braking’ and DFB security officer José Meneses emerging on his phone to the Brighton man and his teammates, who were now back in the restaurant and stuck after abandoning their taxi plan.

They eventually reunited with their teammates, headed back to the hotel and presumably faced the ridicule of the rest of the group, who had avoided the chaos by simply sticking to the original script.

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That’s according to Sport, who say the forward’s ‘absolute priority’ is to return to the Camp Nou after starring for the Seagulls on loan.

The newspaper explains that Fati sees this year in England as one in which he can ‘recover sensations’ to come back stronger and compete for a place in Barcelona’s first team.

He believes he has a chance given Barcelona’s offensive players are struggling this season and the fact that he has ‘regained his spark’ under Roberto De Zerbi.

That’s helped to not only make an impact at Brighton, where he has four goals and one assist to date, but also prove to Barcelona that he still has something to offer.

The hope is that he can be a ‘fundamental player’ for Brighton throughout the campaign and finish the season strongly, with him and his entourage feeling he is better that the current left-wingers in Barcelona’s squad and worthy of a place.

That’s shown in the numbers as in November alone he had scored more goals than all of Barcelona’s forwards before Robert Lewandowski got a double against Alavés.

Fati’s idea is to reach his peak at the end of the season and have a shot of being in Spain’s squad for the Euros before then returning to Barcelona with a point to prove.

At the moment they’re only interested in selling and wouldn’t mind a sale of €30m but Fati wants another shot and believes his time at Brighton so far means he is deserving of it.

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The midfielder has been speaking to various media in Germany as he links up with the German national team for this international break.

Groß has been shining again for Brighton again this season, reaffirming his status as a key player under Roberto de Zerbi.

He’s very much a vital part of the plan under the Italian boss, something which has seemingly not gone unnoticed back in his native Germany.

A report this week stated that Eintracht Frankfurt are potentially eyeing a move for the Brighton man as they continue to look at bolstering their squad.

That report indicated that Groß is a long-term target for the club, who held talks with him in 2022 about a potential move and haven’t stopped watching him in the time since.

It seems, though, that interest is not something the Brighton man is aware of at this point, as he batted away questions on the matter in comments today.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Sport Buzzer report him saying.

“Basically, I follow the Bundesliga very closely. Contact with Germany was never broken. I watch a lot of games.

“Eintracht has done very, very well in recent years – with victory in the Europa League as the highlight. This is a great, big, traditional club.”

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The midfielder has been speaking to various media after linking up Julian Nagelsmann’s side for their upcoming games against Turkey and Austria.

He’s very much a fully-fledged member of the international set up after only making his debut in the 4-1 loss to Japan back in September.

He added to that cap with another in the 2-1 win over France later that month before again linking up with the squad for the games against USA and Mexico in the last international break.

It’s been something of a late bloom for the Brighton man, who had very much been ignored by the national team earlier in his career.

That has changed since Roberto de Zerbi’s arrival at Brighton, though, with the German playing an important role under his leadership and in the success, they’ve enjoyed over the last year or so.

That’s now seen him recognised on the international stage and he admits he feels more comfortable than he once did.

“I feel like I’ve arrived,” ASB Zeitung report him saying.

“The team has made me feel very welcome, I feel better than I did in my first place. It’s better.”

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At the start of this season, Barcelona manager Xavi Hernández used the 21-year-old as a substitute in the opening three games. In need of a regular game time, the winger joined the Seagulls on a loan deal towards the end of the last window.

Puig spent over a decade at the Catalan club in various roles between 2001 and 2014, and has now explained why the Barca owned player’s temporary move to Brighton is a success.

“It doesn’t hurt me that Ansu has left. He is a professional, he doesn’t have to stay with Barça to say that he has reached the top. Ansu is playing for Brighton at 20 years old, I call that success,” he said.

At Brighton, the Spain international has clocked in 595 minutes from 13 games, scoring four goals and registering an assist in the process. He made his first Premier League start in his side’s 1-1 draw against Sheffield United last weekend.

Fati is a product of the La Liga giants’ youth system and made his first team debut in 2019, when he was 16 years of age. Puig is of the belief his compatriot needs to be given time to continue his development.

“If Ansu at 25 is no longer playing in the elite we can talk about it, but at 20 years old playing in the Premier League is very difficult. We are in too much of a hurry, we have to wait and let the young people mature, even if it is not here,” Puig explained.

DIRECTO @JijantesFC

Albert Puig: "No me duele que se haya ido Ansu. Es un profesional, no tiene que quedarse con el Barça para decir que ha llegado a la cumbre. Ansu está jugando en el Brighton con 20 años, yo a eso lo llamo éxito."https://t.co/OGW0AKAWMl

— Jijantes FC (@JijantesFC) November 16, 2023

DIRECTO @JijantesFC

Albert Puig: "Si Ansu con 25 años ya no está jugando en la élite podremos hablarlo, pero con 20 años jugar en la Premier es muy difícil. Tenemos demasiado prisa, hay que esperar y dejar madurar a los jóvenes, aunque no sea aquí."https://t.co/OGW0AKAWMl

— Jijantes FC (@JijantesFC) November 16, 2023

The post “I call that success” – Manager discusses big summer Brighton deal, move ‘doesn’t hurt’ him appeared first on Sport Witness.

The midfielder was restricted to 77 minutes of action from four games in the second half of the last season. The Seagulls allowed him to join Coventry City on a loan deal in the summer window, to continue his development.

The temporary move has paid off as the 20-year-old has made 11 appearances this season. The Brighton owned player is currently with the Sweden U21 camp, and it gave Fotbollskanalen an opportunity to have a chat with him.

Coventry City have endured a difficult run this season as they have managed only three wins from 16 league games. This has seen them sit 20th in the table. Despite this, Ayari is enjoying his time with the Sky Blues and insisted that his main aim was to enjoy more minutes this season.

“It has gone well. The team has gone a little worse and we are not really where we should be. But things are going well, matches and training are going well,” he said.

“I had no expectations at all. I went there because I wanted to play, to have fun and gain experience. And I’ve got it. I’ve played – maybe not as much as I’d like, but I’ve played and that’s the most important thing.”

When asked to describe life away from the pitch, Ayari explained: “It’s nice. It’s close to Sweden, only two hours away, so many people can come over quickly. Many people dream of living in England and playing in the Premier League or the Championship, so I won’t complain.”

Ayari will have to return to Brighton after this season, where he has a deal until 2027.

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That’s according to SportBILD, who say the Bundesliga side could reignite their interest in the midfielder from the summer of 2022.

The newspaper explains that with Kevin Trapp, Mario Götze and Robin Koch already in the squad, there is a chance that another German national team player will be added soon.

That’s because Eintracht have the Brighton star ‘in mind’ as they look to bolster their squad, having previously looked at him in the 2022 summer transfer window.

There were ‘loose conversations’ between Groß and Krösche at the time but the former elected to stay with Brighton.

He’s now extended his stay at the club until 2025 but Krösche still has a ‘high opinion’ of the player, and he could be considered as a future reinforcement.

Krösche particularly likes that he can take on various roles in midfield, something he’s done regularly for Brighton, while Groß experience in the Bundesliga with Hoffenheim and Ingolstadt means he is adapted to the league already.

Whether that leads Eintracht to move to add him to their midfielder alongside Ellyes Skhiri, Hugo Larsson and Sebastien Rode is up for debate, but the interest is there, nonetheless.

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The reason for their story is claims from Spain that Atletico Madrid have joined the race for the midfielder, with El Chiringuito saying Diego Simeone wants the signing.

TyC Sports first names Brighton claiming they’re still in the race. Then they recall that Barco was close to leaving Boca Juniors in the summer, when the Seagulls made an approach for him.

Then in a third mention, the outlet states that Roberto De Zerbi’s side are actually the only club who have directly contacted the Argentine club for the transfer, making a couple of offers which were rejected.

The big reason why Barco stayed at Boca Juniors this year was their Copa Libertadores campaign.

They lost the final earlier this month, so there’s not a lot holding him there anymore. The release clause stands at only US$10m, and with many clubs in the battle, it seems more like a matter of convincing the player they’re the best option.

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He has continued the good work set in motion by Graham Potter, and managed to boost the club’s reputation enough to convince the likes of Ansu Fati to join, even if on loan.

The manager has never been shy, either, recently admitting he didn’t like 80% of referees in the Premier League after some decisions in their last game going against his side, and Ascoli goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano admits the Brighton manager is also like that behind the scenes, speaking to Il Pallone Gonfiato.

He recalls a moment at Sassuolo when the Italian completely lost it in the dressing room, all because of a penalty that was given against his team.

He said: “During Sassuolo-SPAL, De Zerbi was nervous because the week before, VAR had removed the first goal for us and given a penalty to Fiorentina. This thing had created a week of controversy, the fact that they gave us a dubious penalty against Sassuolo. At the end of the game, I went straight back into the Sassuolo dressing room.

“De Zerbi tore his jacket off and threw his shirt at the sporting director. He insulted everyone on his staff. No one said anything. At one point, I told him ‘Robi, will you calm down?’ and he said ‘calm the f— down!’. All because of a dubious penalty which he said was due to a week of controversy. The thing I was shocked about was that his staff were terrified of him. They were terrified and nobody said anything.”

Since taking over at Brighton in early September 2022, De Zerbi has taken charge of 56 games for the Premier League club, winning 26 of them, drawing 12 and losing the other 18.

They currently sit 8th in the table after 12 games, most recently drawing at home to Sheffield United 1-1, and will next face Nottingham Forest away at City Ground.

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