Jason Steele has been told he has earned the right to guard the Albion goal in front of a raucous Holte End.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper makes his Premier League debut as the Seagulls face Aston Villa tomorrow.

Steele’s first league appearance since an outing for relegated Sunderland at the end of the 2017-18 Championship season comes in place of suspended Robert Sanchez.

He played at Villa with Blackburn in the second tier five years ago this month, making saves from two-goal Jonathan Kodjia, Ross McCormack and Gary Gardner for a Rovers side who lost 2-1.

Albion head coach Graham Potter said: “He wants to play, as all footballers do, but he has accepted his role in the team, supporting Robert.

“When you do that you know, if there is a problem, if there is an injury, if there is a suspension, then he is next in line to play and he has been preparing himself all the time.

“The improvement Jason has made in the time I have been here has been incredible.

“As a player, he has been fantastic in terms of how he has stepped up his level.

“He has earned the right in terms of that journey he has been on. That’s nice when a player puts in that work and finally gets a reward.”

Steele’s build-up to the game with coach Ben Roberts has been business as usual.

Potter said: “Ben works with the goalkeepers in the same way, so they all get the information, the preparation is the same.”

Dan Burn and Aaron Connolly are available after injury but a muscle problem has ruled out Enock Mwepu, who now targets next Saturday’s home fixture versus Leeds.