Solly March has been playing a new role down the left this summer.

And it might just help unlock Albion as a more attacking force.

The winger from Hailsham has been used at wing-back in friendly wins over Birmingham and Valencia.

It is perhaps more of a surprise for those who see little of the Seagulls than it is for the regulars.

For a winger, March has shown himself to be a very good defender tracking back in recent years.

He has had to in the Premier League as part of Chris Hughton’s strategy.

Hughton praised his efforts defensively more than once and it seems to be something he enjoys.

There are even those who reckon he could possibly end up as an orthodox left-back.

Early days and all that but Graham Potter has not gone that far.

But he has used March as left wing-back as part of a 3-4-3 and it looks promising.

Whether or not we see that at Watford on Saturday remains to be seen.

But the fact March is a winger who can defend and right-sided Martin Montoya is a full-back who can attack make it an option.

Six years after he first came to prominence as a right winger with his pre-season cracker against Norwich, could March make a name for himself in a very different role?

Potter said: “He has the physicality to be able to play there, for sure.

“He has got the quality. If you get the ball wide to him, he is essentially a winger who can be effective in those crossing positions.

“As a wide player, when we played a back four he would be quite deep so he is used to those areas.

“The idea basically is that you don’t want him to defend too much “But, when he has to, I think he can do it quite well.

“He will have more challenges along the way but it is good for him to experience that position.

“It gives us a little bit of flexibility in terms of sometimes it is an option for us.”

Early signs are that March gets forward further and more often than Montoya But there have been hints at how the former Valencia man can attack, not least when he hit the underside of the bar at St Andrew’s.

That is where flexibility will come in.

Dan Burn can drift across to play at left-back quite easily when playing on the left of a three to make it look like a back four.

Whether Shane Duffy can do the same on the right is perhaps up for debate.

Bernardo is also seen as a possible as the left-sided centre-back in a three although he replaced March at wing-back late in the Valencia game.

It is likely right-sided Ezequiel Schelotto, who likes the wing-back role, will have chance to impress once he completes his recovery from a serious knee injury.

And it remains to be seen where Adam Webster fits into all this.

Potter said: “You want your lateral centre-backs to be able to defend the wide areas.

“You don’t want them to be too rigid in the centre-back positions because you end up at a numerical disadvantage further up the pitch.

“Dan gives us an option there. He can play wing-back and left centre-back.

“The concepts and how we want to play remain the same but it depends on the quality of the player and the attributes they have and how we want to attack the game.”

A rather withering study of Albion towards the end of last season by totalfootballanalysis.com highlighted their lack of manpower with which to launch counter-attacks out of a packed defence.

In theory, March will have three players ahead of him now when he gets the ball deep.

That, at least, is how it worked in the 3-4-3 with Jurgen Locadia and Leandro Trossard working off the main striker.

On the right, we could now see Montoya show the attacking threat we have heard plenty about from Spain but not seen too much.

That, of course, is if the system is used in the Premier League and works as desired.

Asked by The Argus whether 3-4-3 is how Potter will start in the league, he said: “We have been working with a couple of options.

“I think what is important for us is just trying to work out what is best for the players we have.

“I think we have taken strides forward with that and we have to keep improving as well. There are some things we could do better with, that’s normal.

“I’ve only been with the group for five or six weeks.

“The response has been really positive and players have been open-minded.

“They are trying the best they can.”

The other option we have seen (and bear in mind not all Albion’s pre-season matches have been open to media and public) also offers March some new challenges.

A 4-2-3-1 worked well in the first half against Fulham at Aldershot, although not so well in the second.

March, on the right, and Jurgen Locadia, on the left, played quite wide in a three but the former often popped up in a central role, swapping with Pascal Gross.

Either way, the end of pre-season has lifted spirits among Albion fans.

Potter was pleased with the very upbeat reaction his side received in the Valencia match and hopes to hear more of it.

He said: “The crowd were great. It was fantastic to get that many to start with.

“Of course, it was Bruno’s evening so I wasn’t surprised by that.

“They were behind us, they helped and encouraged and we will need them, of course.

“The Premier League is a challenge and we will need to use everything we can.”

Like getting the very best out of the players at your disposal.

It could be a whole new beginning for March.