When Tariq Lamptey swapped Chelsea for Brighton & Hove Albion in 2020, he probably wasn’t expecting to be competing for a place in the Champions League anytime soon. But now in his third season at his current club, he and his team find themselves just outside the European qualifying places in the Premier League.
Lamptey's Brighton team lost their long-term and well-respected manager, Graham Potter, to Chelsea earlier this season. Potter’s replacement, Roberto De Zerbi, picked up where the Englishman left off and Brighton continue punching above their weight in the Premier League.
Roberto De Zerbi and assistant coach Andrea Maldera have been granted their work permits, while Vincenzo Teresa and Marcattilio Marcattilii join the first team backroom staff. 🇮🇹
Andrew Crofts has been appointed as a first team coach, with Shannon Ruth taking over the U21s. 🤝
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) September 23, 2022
Brighton challenging for Premier League top-five finish
With well over half of the current Premier League season gone, Brighton are in a cluster of clubs just outside the top five looking to break into the automatic qualifying places for Europe. Granted, they do have Liverpool and Chelsea behind them in the table, and one or both of those teams will probably come good at some stage this season. But for now, the Seagulls are continuing to hold their own, and are in with a good chance of qualifying for Europe next season.
At the moment, Brighton are 7/2 in the betting to finish in the top four in the Premier League. That places them ahead of Chelsea, but behind the usual suspects of Man City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Man Utd, and Newcastle. The Seagulls are just 10/11 to finish in the top six. A top-five finish guarantees European football next season, while a top-six finish could be good enough, depending on who wins the two cups.
Lamptey and his Brighton side are also among the betting favorites to win the FA Cup - another route into Europe. In this competition, the Seagulls are 7/1, which means most are likely to still favor the likes of Manchester City and Manchester United to lift the trophy. But it will work in Brighton’s favor that a lot of the other big names are already out of the competition. You may therefore find that the best premium tipsters in the football landscape see better value in alternative bets such as Brighton. They track a vast range of data, so if any variable changes to boost Brighton's chances, they're likely to spot it.
Leaving Chelsea was a career step for Lamptey
From Tariq Lamptey’s perspective, he probably would have believed leaving Chelsea for Brighton was a step backwards. But a step backwards that would ultimately lead to his career progressing by playing more regular football on the South Coast of England.
Source: Pexels
As has been proven in recent times, if a player does well at Brighton, he will be noticed by the big Premier League clubs. Marc Cucurella and Leandro Trossard are living proof of that.
But unfortunately for Lamptey, this season he has only played a bit part role. He hasn’t been a regular starter under De Zerbi and has had to make do with brief cameo appearances off the bench. But on the flip side, he has been involved in nearly all of his team's matches, and his team is really doing well. This could definitely help the Ghanaian become recognised as a key player in the future of the Premier League.