Albion fans are going to fall in love with Anthony Knockaert.
The Seagulls' latest signing will be embraced by his team-mates too, although they will sometimes feel like throttling him.
That is the verdict of ex-Albion and Leicester City striker Alan Young on the French right-winger, pinched from Belgian club Standard Liege for a fee below £2 million.
Scotsman Young, who played for Albion in the mid-1980s after three years at Leicester, saw a lot of Knockaert at the Foxes in his former role as a radio summariser.
Knockaert helped Leicester reach the Championship play-offs, then gain automatic promotion. He also had a season with them in the Premier League before moving to Liege last summer.
Young suspects the diminutive 24-year-old will be as much of a hit on the South Coast as he was in the East Midlands.
He said: "The Brighton public will absolutely love him. Being a coastal city, they've got a different sort of mindset, never mind just football.
"They want to be entertained, somebody to cheer. Anthony is certainly that boy - if he does the right things in the right places and at the right times.
"When he first arrived at Leicester City I thought 'What a breath of fresh air this little fella is'. He scored a couple of fantastic goals but he does have his flaws.
"He tends to try to do a wee bit too much with the ball. He likes to get forward and take on defenders, which is no bad thing, but his ball retention for me was poor.
"But his creative play was very good. He could be absolutely fabulous.
"I can remember saying during one match if I was playing with him I'd either be giving him a bit cuddle or I'd be wringing his neck!
"It's very true, because he must be terribly frustrating to play with. He's got fantastic ability, fantastic feet, but he doesn't always produce an end product. He's a wee bit inconsistent."
Young's description is that of a typical winger but he believes that is not necessarily Knockaert's best position and that he could be even more effective in another role under Chris Hughton.
"Anthony will add something to the squad, absolutely," Young said. "Chris is a good judge of a player and it's about getting the best out of him.
"He'll have seen him in the Championship many times. I'm not sure Anthony is necessarily a wide player in a 4-4-2.
"He can play behind the front two, perhaps in a diamond midfield. He needs to get that freedom. If he plays wide he will be dependent on other people getting into the box. I think his best position would be in behind the two strikers."
Knockaert, who has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, is glad to be back in English football so quickly.
"I feel very happy," he said. "It's like a child's dream. It's always a pleasure to be back in England, especially when I know what the Championship is like.
"I had a great time at Leicester, especially when we won the Championship. It was something special, a nice feeling to win the title."
Knockaert made 42 League appearances in each of his two Championship seasons with Leicester but only nine in the Premier League last season.
He lost out to Riyad Mahrez, no disgrace considering how the Algerian winger, together with Jamie Vardy, has been ripping up the top flight this time around.
"He's a great player, a talented player, so everything was good when I was playing there," Knockaert said.
"We had a good relationship. Still now I call him and he calls me. It's just football, you just have to respect it.
"It's not as if he isn't a good player. What he is doing in the Premier League now is just unbelievable. I don't think he will be staying at Leicester for a few years. I think he would move on to a big club. He deserves it."
Liege snapped up Knockaert on a free transfer in June. He scored five goals for them in 20 League games and had no definite plan to return to England until Albion followed up initial contact in November with a firm bid.
He said: "I had great statistics (at Liege). It was good for me personally. The club is a bit special. You've got a lot of pressure. The fans, if you miss a pass, all the stadium whistles. It's a different mentality.
"We lost a lot of games in a part of the season so the fans were really bad to us, which is normal. Once we started winning again it was better.
"I was talking with my agents for a few months about whether I would come back or not and what would happen in January, stuff like that.
"It wasn't a priority to come back because it was good with Standard but the opportunity came from Brighton and for me it's a nice club to play for.
"I used to play here for Leicester. I loved the stadium. I was impressed with it and the fans. It's a new challenge for me now and I think it's a great challenge to take."
Original article
The Seagulls' latest signing will be embraced by his team-mates too, although they will sometimes feel like throttling him.
That is the verdict of ex-Albion and Leicester City striker Alan Young on the French right-winger, pinched from Belgian club Standard Liege for a fee below £2 million.
Scotsman Young, who played for Albion in the mid-1980s after three years at Leicester, saw a lot of Knockaert at the Foxes in his former role as a radio summariser.
Knockaert helped Leicester reach the Championship play-offs, then gain automatic promotion. He also had a season with them in the Premier League before moving to Liege last summer.
Young suspects the diminutive 24-year-old will be as much of a hit on the South Coast as he was in the East Midlands.
He said: "The Brighton public will absolutely love him. Being a coastal city, they've got a different sort of mindset, never mind just football.
"They want to be entertained, somebody to cheer. Anthony is certainly that boy - if he does the right things in the right places and at the right times.
"When he first arrived at Leicester City I thought 'What a breath of fresh air this little fella is'. He scored a couple of fantastic goals but he does have his flaws.
"He tends to try to do a wee bit too much with the ball. He likes to get forward and take on defenders, which is no bad thing, but his ball retention for me was poor.
"But his creative play was very good. He could be absolutely fabulous.
"I can remember saying during one match if I was playing with him I'd either be giving him a bit cuddle or I'd be wringing his neck!
"It's very true, because he must be terribly frustrating to play with. He's got fantastic ability, fantastic feet, but he doesn't always produce an end product. He's a wee bit inconsistent."
Young's description is that of a typical winger but he believes that is not necessarily Knockaert's best position and that he could be even more effective in another role under Chris Hughton.
"Anthony will add something to the squad, absolutely," Young said. "Chris is a good judge of a player and it's about getting the best out of him.
"He'll have seen him in the Championship many times. I'm not sure Anthony is necessarily a wide player in a 4-4-2.
"He can play behind the front two, perhaps in a diamond midfield. He needs to get that freedom. If he plays wide he will be dependent on other people getting into the box. I think his best position would be in behind the two strikers."
Knockaert, who has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract, is glad to be back in English football so quickly.
"I feel very happy," he said. "It's like a child's dream. It's always a pleasure to be back in England, especially when I know what the Championship is like.
"I had a great time at Leicester, especially when we won the Championship. It was something special, a nice feeling to win the title."
Knockaert made 42 League appearances in each of his two Championship seasons with Leicester but only nine in the Premier League last season.
He lost out to Riyad Mahrez, no disgrace considering how the Algerian winger, together with Jamie Vardy, has been ripping up the top flight this time around.
"He's a great player, a talented player, so everything was good when I was playing there," Knockaert said.
"We had a good relationship. Still now I call him and he calls me. It's just football, you just have to respect it.
"It's not as if he isn't a good player. What he is doing in the Premier League now is just unbelievable. I don't think he will be staying at Leicester for a few years. I think he would move on to a big club. He deserves it."
Liege snapped up Knockaert on a free transfer in June. He scored five goals for them in 20 League games and had no definite plan to return to England until Albion followed up initial contact in November with a firm bid.
He said: "I had great statistics (at Liege). It was good for me personally. The club is a bit special. You've got a lot of pressure. The fans, if you miss a pass, all the stadium whistles. It's a different mentality.
"We lost a lot of games in a part of the season so the fans were really bad to us, which is normal. Once we started winning again it was better.
"I was talking with my agents for a few months about whether I would come back or not and what would happen in January, stuff like that.
"It wasn't a priority to come back because it was good with Standard but the opportunity came from Brighton and for me it's a nice club to play for.
"I used to play here for Leicester. I loved the stadium. I was impressed with it and the fans. It's a new challenge for me now and I think it's a great challenge to take."
Original article