Former Albion defender Tommy Elphick has been left scratching his head as to why Lewis Dunk isn't involved in the England setup.
Dunk usually plays as part of a back three for Albion – the same defensive formation Gareth Southgate adopts – yet the 28-year-old has only won one England cap.
“He made his Albion debut alongside me, I know him very well. I played a few games with him before I left Brighton and it's no surprise to see how well he's doing.
“You watch England play and find yourself scratching your head wondering how Lewis isn't at least involved in the setup, especially with the system they play.
“He has made the position at Brighton his own and watching the England game against Belgium, you feel he could have made a real impact.
“Lewis has got everything in the locker. He has been very well schooled as a lot of the centre-halves are at Brighton – they have a knack of developing good players in that position. He epitomised, especially in the early days, what the academy stands for.
“He reads the game superbly and is very good on the ball. He doesn't get enough credit for how athletic he is and powerful he is for his size and deserves more chances at international level.”
Elphick isn't surprised to see Dunk thriving under Graham Potter.
“Graham Potter has done well. He has made some big decisions and let some big characters go to mould the squad into something he believes he can work well with.
“The key for Brighton is turning those performances into wins. What you can't lose sight of is where Brighton were a few years ago. They are still a fresh team in the Premier League and staying up is the priority. Anything you can build on from there will make it a positive season.
“They came back after the first lockdown and did extremely well to get into a position where they weren't under any real threat of going down. They will want to build on that. From the outside looking in, they are always pleasing on the eye but you just want to see those good performances turn into three points.”