Brighton facing difficult decision on Tariq Lamptey

Tariq Lamptey attracting January interest from a number of clubs leaves Brighton with a difficult decision over what to do with a player who has fallen down the pecking order this past year.

And judging by the reaction online to rumours linking Lamptey with Wolves and Sporting Lisbon, whatever route Roberto De Zerbi and the Albion go down seems likely to split opinion.

That we are even talking about a cut-price deal or loan move for Lamptey is because of one thing and one thing only – that hamstring injury he picked up in December 2020, which ruled him out until October 2021.

In the six months before he was put on the shelf, Lamptey was unlike anything Brighton fans had ever seen at right back.

Attackers could not get past him at one end and at the other, no full back could stop him charging forward. His searing pace meant he could cover the length of the pitch in under 15 seconds and his exemplary close control saw the ball stick to him like glue.

When Lamptey made it into the opposition area, his decision making was always exemplary. The number of chances he would lay on a plate for his teammates to miss was a huge reason why the Albion became the kings of xG under Glow Up Graham Potter.

Away at Newcastle United in the second game of the 2020-21 campaign, Tariq Lamptey gave one of the best individual performances in Brighton history as the Seagulls sauntered to a 3-0 win.

Lamptey won the first half penalty converted by Neal Maupay which gave the Albion the lead. It was Lamptey’s blistering run and flick which released Leandro Trossard to cross for Maupay to tap home the second a few minutes later.

There was one moment at St James’ Park where Lamptey made a brilliant challenge to prevent Callum Wilson getting a shot on Maty Ryan’s goal.

From there, he started a blistering counter attack which 20 seconds later he was on then end of to draw a great one-on-one save from the legs of Karl Darlow.

Lamptey was clocked at one point running at 21mph, just six mph off the pace Usain Bolt displayed when setting his 100m world record. At that speed, Lamptey could run from Brighton to Portsmouth in two hours.

Jonjo Shelvey and Jamal Lewis both gave up trying to stop Lamptey legally and subsequently found themselves in the book.

By the hour mark, Lamptey had done enough to win Brighton the game and he was removed as Potter sought to protect his ankles from anymore crude Toon attempts to kick him off the pitch.

A year before Ben White was sold by Brighton for £50 million, Tariq Lamptey was having that price tag slapped on his head. Chelsea were being mocked and told how foolish they had been in letting Lamptey go in favour of keeping Reece James.

Except of course, Chelsea had not willingly allowed Lamptey to move to the Amex. The Blues wanted to keep him but Lamptey refused to sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge, instead seeking first team football elsewhere.

Chelsea had no choice but to cash in at a reduced fee when Brighton came calling in January 2020, otherwise Lamptey would have gone for a free that summer.

Lamptey’s desire to play rather than sit on the bench even if it means earning less money brought him to the Albion in the first place.

It also informed his decision to switch allegiance to Ghana once Lamptey realised international recognition was going to be much easier to come by with the Black Stars rather than England.

And now it might be what causes him to leave the Albion. Since Lamptey returned from those 10 months of hamstring problems, he has not looked the same player on a consistent enough basis.

There have been flashes of skill and moments where that old pace looks like it still exists. He was excellent in November’s Carabao Cup win at Arsenal for example, when De Zerbi interestingly opted to use him at left back.

But by-and-large, Lamptey has struggled to hold down a first team spot over the past 12 months. Joel Veltman and Solly March were preferred at right back or right wing back under Glow Up.

De Zerbi repurposing Pascal Gross at right back since the switch to 4-2-3-1 has pushed Lamptey further down the pecking order.

Since the start of 2022, he has started just 10 Premier League matches. Just one of those starts has come in the 2022-23 season, the New Year’s Eve defeat to Arsenal.

With both Lamptey and Pervis Estupinan wanting to charge forward from the same back four, Brighton became overrun by the Gunners.

Since that 4-2 defeat, De Zerbi has opted in the Premier League to stick with Gross and Veltman at right back, whose runs up the line are much less frequent than Lamptey. The defence has looked more balanced as a result.

Estupinan looks undroppable right now, but that is not to say he will always remain an automatic pick. One of the more intriguing aspects of Brighton’s pursuit of Shakhtar Donetsk defender Mykola Matvienko is that the Ukrainian international can cover both centre back and left back.

If De Zerbi were to deploy the defensively minded Matvienko on the left, then suddenly there is room for a more rampaging right back. Hello, Lamp as they say in Anchorman.

But at this moment in time, Lamptey’s role seems set at coming off the bench. We saw that at Leicester City, where his running unsettled a Foxes side sitting increasingly deeper to try and see out a 2-1 win. Evan Ferguson eventually got the equaliser Brighton deserved.

The Albion undoubtedly benefit from Lamptey as a super sub. But is that what is right for the player? At 22 and having already missed nearly a year of his career through injury, Lamptey needs to be playing first team football.

Right now, he is not going to get that at Brighton. And he has shown before that he is not afraid to move on for the sake of his career, a refreshing mindset for a young player to have at a time when many opt for getting rich over actually playing football.

If Lamptey does want to leave, then a loan move looks the best option for all parties. Six months of regular football could unlock the player Lamptey was before injury. If that were the case, his return to Brighton in the summer would be akin to a new signing.

Sell Lamptey on a permanent deal and you risk him becoming that £50 million player again and another club reaping the benefits.

You also leave yourself short at right back, should the Gross experiment ever stop bearing fruit or De Zerbi decide Veltman is better suited to playing in the middle, as he did in the closing stages at Leicester.

There are plenty of considerations for Brighton to weigh up when it comes to deciding the future of Tariq Lamptey.

But whatever route the Albion take, hopefully it leads to Lamptey rediscovering the form he showed pre-injury. It is the least he deserves for being a proper professional and a thoroughly nice bloke.