I had no problem giving Tariq his debut, says Potter

Graham Potter was confident that Tariq Lamptey would perform when he handed him his Albion debut in June against Sunday's opponents Leicester City.

However, the head coach admits the decision would have been questioned had the 20-year-old not performed as impressively as he did.

Lamptey has gone from strength-to-strength since that 0-0 draw in June but Potter admitted he had some concerns before the game started.

“The context of that game against Leicester City is important. We had had just beaten Arsenal but we were very much in a relegation fight. I am not going to lie - to put a young guy like Tariq into that situation was a bit nerve-racking.

“If it hadn’t gone well you know it could have looked like a strange decision. But we believed in him, his quality, attributes and personality. It says a lot about his temperament that he did so well.  

“Since then he has been fantastic. He’s not the finished article and still has a lot to do. But he is able to influence games at this level and I think he will get better and better.”

The Foxes have finished in the top ten for the last three years and are playing in the Europa League again this season. Potter is not surprised by their enduring success.

“We shouldn’t forget that they were Premier League champions not so long ago, which was an amazing story. They have built an incredible legacy and they made a really good head coach appointment in Brendan Rogers.

“He brings experience and knowhow. They have got a really talented group of players and they have done well with recruitment. They sell players at the right time for the right price and they bring the right players in to replace them so everything is moving in the right direction.”

Supporters can watch tonight's game for free with an Amazon Prime Video 30-day free trial - which also covers Albion's games against Fulham and Arsenal in December - by clicking here.