Brazilian Bernardo reveals what he can bring to Albion in the Premier League

But he has pledged to add strength and stability to the defence.

The Seagulls landed Bernardo from 2016-17 Bundesliga runners-up Red Bull Leipzig last week on a contract until 2022, for a fee reported in Germany to be nearing £9 million.

The versatile and multi-lingual 23-year-old from Sao Paulo is well aware of the image of players from his country.

Bernardo, speaking at Albion's training camp in the Austrian Alpine resort of Schruns, said: "There is a lot of expectation when you say you are Brazilian. People think you are going to be like Ronaldinho (below), get the ball, do tricks, dribble around everyone and score.

"It's not like that. I have a different profile from the typical Brazilian player. My behaviour away from the pitch is a bit more calm and on the pitch I am more a hard-working guy than the one that does tricks and dribbles."

Although Bernardo is capable of operating in a variety of positions, Albion have signed him primarily as a left-back.

He will provide competition for Gaetan Bong (below) and his arrival could prompt the departure of Markus Suttner.

Bernardo said: "Talking specifically about left-back, I think many people nowadays see left-back as more offensive than defensive, but your first job is to defend and then if possible to attack.

"That is what I want to bring, to make the defence line even stronger, to bring more stability, to win duels, to do whatever a defender has to do, bring something positive to my team."

Bernardo's career began back home with Audax Sao Paulo, Red Bull Brasil and Ponte Preta before moving to Europe to play initially for Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, then Leipzig.

He made 49 appearances in two years for the German club, playing in the Bundesliga, Champions League and Europa League.

They finished sixth last season and he still had three years left on his contract, but the pull of the Premier League was strong.

His father Bernardo Fernandes da Silva Senior, who played for Bayern Munich and Brazil, is now his agent and was heavily involved in the negotiations with Albion.

"I had other opportunities to go to other clubs but for sure this was the direction I wanted to take," Bernardo (below) said.

"I I had good clubs but I wanted to go to the Premier League to a club that showed a lot of interest in me. I think that is very, very important.

"A club that shows they really want you. And I felt that from Brighton since day one, that they really wanted me here.

"It was something I was kind of missing in Leipzig. My first impression is really, really good.

"I like the Premier League because you have the top teams that will fight for the top spots and the title but there is no easy game. Even the teams at the bottom have quality, they play, they make good matches against the good teams.

"That's why the Premier League attracts so many fans, because you turn on the TV and it doesn't matter if it is two teams in the lower part of the table, they are still good teams, playing a very fast game with a lot of quality, also a very physical game.

"It's a very complete league, almost the perfect league, because you have everything - speed, quality, power, strength. That's why it is very attractive.

"Comparing to the Bundesliga, I think it's similar but here it's just maybe one level higher, not a big difference, just one level.

"Everything that I mentioned before, you still have in the Bundesliga but here it's the next level."

Bernardo is following the same path from the Bundesliga as Albion's outstanding player last season, Pascal Gross (Ingolstadt), and fellow new defender Leon Balogun (Mainz, above), who links up with the squad next week after representing Nigeria at the World Cup.

"I'm very positive and confident," Bernardo said. "I think it will be really good for me. I have this impression, this feeling.

"It would be nice if I could follow in his (Gross's) steps.

"I have played against Leon. he is a very good defender, very physical, aggressive. He also has quality."