Martin Hinshelwood believes Albion are showing foresight by giving their under-18s licence to play at The Amex.

The young Seagulls will host Aston Villa at the stadium in an FA Youth Cup third round tie on Tuesday, December 13 (7.30pm).

Villa were beaten finalists in the competition two seasons ago under the captaincy of current Albion development squad midfielder Ryan Simmonds.

Hinshelwood, the Seagulls’ director of football with a leading role in the youth set-up, said: “The club will probably lose money on the fixture but they have seen the bigger picture of the boys getting to play at the stadium and having that experience.

“I am thankful to them for that.”

Albion are unbeaten in the league since the opening day of the season ad are currently top of their division.

Youth team product Jake Forster-Caskey played the first half of England under-18s’ 1-1 friendly draw in Slovakia yesterday.

The development squad midfielder looked neat and tidy on the ball but was unable to connect with a difficult chance on the volley with the score at 0-0.