Joel Veltman happy to play wherever as he tackles first Premier League campaign

The Dutchman is known for being versatile have played at centre back and right back for Ajax.

When Veltman was on international duty for the Netherlands last week he played in central defence alongside Dutch skipper and Liverpool defender Virgil Van Dijk.

Veltman will face a lot of competition for a place at centre-back at Albion from Dan Burn, Ben White, skipper Lewis Dunk and Adam Webster.

He will also have to compete with young full-back Tariq Lamptey for the right-sided role.

However, Veltman admits he does not have a preference on where he plays.

He said :“Over the last two years my position has changed a lot with me playing as either a right back or the right-sided central defender.

“When I was in the youth team at Ajax I was a right-back, but then when I got into the first team I was a centre back and over the last two years I have switched between the two.

“But I haven’t really got a favourite, I like both positions.”

Veltman joined Albion in July from Ajax, who he has been with all of his professional career and he spoke about how tough it was to leave after 12 years there.

He said: “I was ten years old when I started playing at Ajax and it’s was hard to move to a new club and a new country.

“A couple of years ago I wanted to move to Brighton but at that time I got an injury or Ajax said no, so there was no option for me.

“Over the summer it was an option, so I was very happy to make the move.”

Veltman explained why he moved to the Albion.

He said: “When I came here for the health check I saw a lot of the sporting directors, some players as well and the club were very warm and welcoming.

“There are a lot of nice people working here so it gave me a really good feeling about the club.

“The other reason I joined was the fact that Brighton were in the Premier League, which I have dreamt of playing in since I was a young kid.

The 28-year-old also explained how his international colleague and his Albion teammate Davy Propper played a part in the move.

“I spoke to him on Whatsapp when the move was getting serious, we were speaking about it.

“He told me loads of good stories about Brighton, so that really helped me make the move.”

Veltman has played in two of Albion pre-season friendlies the first in the 3-0 win over Portsmouth and the second in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea at the Amex.

However, he missed Albion’s last pre-season friendly with West Bromwich Albion, as he was on international duty with the Netherlands in the Nations League.

In both of their games against Poland and Italy, Veltman played the full 90 minutes and he admits that has helped him to be even sharper ahead of the new season.

He said: “I think it helped me especially with the physical aspect of the game, as I played the full 90 minutes in the two games with the Netherlands, so I am ready to play.”

Veltman could get his first taste of Premier League football tonight when Albion take on Chelsea in their opening game of the season at the Amex.

But what is the Dutch international expecting the Premier League to be like?

He said: “I have watched some Premier League games and I expect it to be a similar level to the Champions League.

“The tempo will be high and the players will be better than in the Dutch league.”

Veltman also spoke about dicussions he had with his new head-coach Potter about the club and their style of play, prior to his move to the South Coast.

He said: "I know that last year was his first season at the club, so he is quite a new manager in the Premier League.

"I was speaking to him prior to the move.

“I think we had two phone calls because I wanted to speak to the manager before I came here, so I could talk to him about the formation, how he wants to play football, that kind of thing. 
“Expectations at the club are high and the manager has expectations for me.”
Albion have been given a tough start with the game against big spenders Chelsea.
Frank Lampard has already spent more than £200 million in the current transfer window on Kai Havertz, Timo Werner, Ben Chilwell, Malang Sarr, Thiago Silva and Veltman’s former Ajax team-mate Hakim Ziyech.
However, Veltman says Chelsea were a good side before their new signings joined.
He said:“Even if they didn’t make the signings then they would have a good team. 
“It’s a really good test for us to try and start the season well and if we don’t start well we can improve on things.”
Veltman will wear the number 34 shirt for Albion in honour of his former Ajax teammate Appie Nouri, who had to retire at 23 after having a heart attack on the pitch in a friendly against Werder Bremen in 2017.
The Dutch defender spoke about why he picked the number 34 with Albion .
He said: “A lot of people know what happened on that day in Austria. 
“Our team-mate and our friend Appie went down on the pitch after having a heart attack. 
“He is still here, luckily.
“What I said about him being a teammate, he was not to me, he was a friend, so that is why I will wear the number 34 he wore. 
“Some of my former teammates like Donny Van De Beek are going to wear the number 34 at their new clubs. 
“It is a really nice feeling for us to be able to do that.”