GRAHAM Potter has said it is a "process" the club has gone through to get the average age of the squad down.

The Albion manager has made it part of his job at the club to safeguard the future of the playing squad by bringing younger players into the team.

This has been showcased by the emergence of defender Tariq Lamptey, who was signed from Chelsea, and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez, who was given a chance to impress after successful loan spells at Forest Green Rovers and Rochdale.

Lamptey is only 21-years-old, and Sanchez is only two years older. The duo have impressed since coming into the first-team, Lamptey was linked with a big-money move to Bayern Munich, and Sanchez is now a regular fixture in the Spain squad.

Other positions have also been future-proofed, such as striker, the ageing hero that was Glenn Murray, 38, was replaced with 25-year-old Neal Maupay, and the same happened with Dale Stephens, 32, and Yves Bissouma, also 25-years-old.

Albion have also increased their willingness to invest in young promising talent that might not be quite ready for Premier League football just yet. The club spent a combined £11 million on Slavia Prague winger Abdallah Sima and Independiente del Valle midfielder Moises Caicedo.

The promising duo had been linked to some of Europe's biggest clubs before arriving at Albion and are now on loan moves at Stoke City and Beerschot in Belgium in order to further develop their games.

The Argus: Brighton and Hove Albion manager Graham Potter applauds the fans after the Premier League match at Carrow Road, Norwich. Picture date: Saturday October 16, 2021.Brighton and Hove Albion manager Graham Potter applauds the fans after the Premier League match at Carrow Road, Norwich. Picture date: Saturday October 16, 2021.

Graham Potter said: "It's a bit of a process you go through. We have been through a process of getting the age of the squad down.

"We've brought in academy players, taken guys from the Championship and other levels.

"It has been a process to get them up to compete in the Premier League. We have to caveat it all with the fact we've only played eight matches so far.

The plan has worked this season, as Albion have started the campaign in top form, winning four of their opening eight games and only losing one, which has put them in the Champion's League spots.

When asked about the success of this season on Talksport, Potter said: "I'd like to say some really intelligent coaching points from my perspective, but the beauty of football is that there's a little bit of luck involved.

"We've had some luck this time, and last season we didn't. We've started well, made a good start and got some points on the board."

This weekend Albion face their most difficult fixture of the season so far as they welcome Manchester City to the Amex Stadium. Potter's side came out on top in the fixture last season, winning 3-2.

The game is at 5.30pm on Saturday, and if Albion win beat the Citizens again, they would climb even further up the table and into third place.

Potter said: "We are Brighton, not Man City, Liverpool, Chelsea. With the greatest of respect, we are where we are with our history and our background to the Premier League.

"Every game is difficult, every game is a fight, but we want to try and develop our idea and keep improving it.

"The ambition is to be a top 10 Premier League club. That is the ambition, and the club have been quite clear with that as their longer-term aim.

"That takes a lot of work. We are not there yet, nowhere near, but that's an exciting ambition."