LEVI COLWILL is happy that he has been 'thrown in at the deep end' by manager Graham Potter.

The defender joined Albion on loan following the departure of Marc Cucurella to Chelsea.

The 19-year-old did not have long to settle into his new surroundings as he made his Premier League debut for the club after only training with his new teammates for one day.

Fortunately he had already proved to be at the required level as he helped Albion to their opening day win over Manchester United.

He told the club website: “It was a surreal experience.

“I wasn’t expecting to come on because I had just arrived, I wouldn’t have put me on if I was the manager.

“But I have a lot of respect for the gaffer for putting me on in an important moment.

“When I did go on, it didn’t feel real, I felt like I was dreaming.

“I headed the ball straight away and it woke me up, I thought ‘I’ve got to play now’.

“It was brilliant. I didn’t have time to think about it, that was the good thing.

"I was straight in the deep end, but we came out the other side with a win and that’s all that matters. I am happy.”

Despite only being at the club for a short time, Colwill is already understanding the demands and tactics of Potter, even though he admits that those not in the group "won't have a clue" what is going on.

He said: “I can’t remember seeing a 3-2-3-2 formation before, but when you understand football, you know why managers play certain formations.

“If you’re looking at it from outside of the pitch though, you probably don’t have a clue what’s going on.

“When you’re a part of the group, it makes so much sense.

“Graham has watched me play, so he knows what I am about. I have watched Brighton quite a few times so I know how they like to approach games, I understand the football.

“It suits me and compliments how I play. The gaffer said to me ‘come in and play your own game and you’ll be fine’.

“I trust him and that’s a big reason why I came here.”

Now the defender wants to build on his debut, in which he was a part of Albion's history making first every win over Manchester United at Old Trafford.

He said: “Making history in my first game, I can’t complain.

“Hopefully we can do some more good things this season.”