Pascal Gross has been handed his biggest plaudit yet as he closes in on an Albion landmark.

The German midfielder could reach 200 appearances for Albion in all competitions when they host old rivals Crystal Palace next week.

A productive afternoon in the 4-0 win over West Ham saw him reach 34 Premier League assists to go with his 23 goals.

Seagulls head coach Roberto De Zerbi said: “To explain the importance of Pascal, I can tell you he is one of the best players I have had in my career.

“He is a fantastic player. He can play everywhere on the pitch.

“He is fantastic in terms of attitude and passion.

“He is very clever to understand difficult situations and I am lucky to have him in my team.

“He is a leader like Lewis Dunk, like Adam Lallana, like Danny Welbeck.

“They are different types of leader but they are always positive guys.

“The secret of Brighton is not the coach or style of play, the secret of Brighton is the part of the squad like Pascal, like Dunk, like Welbeck.”

Yasin Ayari is back in training with the first team squad ahead of the trip to Leeds on Saturday having missed the last two games with illness.

Tariq Lamptey was shown in a picture gallery on the club website working on an exercise bike in the gym after going off injured in the 4-0 win over West Ham.