Facundo Buonanotte has spoken of the challenges of his first year in England - and made a promise to Albion fans.

The teenager from Argentina is preparing to welcome his parents and a best mate to Brighton for a visit which will see them celebrate both Christmas and his 19th birthday.

They will have toasted his recent goal at Chelsea and three successive Premier League appearances, including two starts, from afar.

But, while delighted both with his Stamford Bridge strike and those minutes on the pitch, there is a bigger reason to feel quietly encouraged.

He believes he is instilling trust in his colleagues and bosses about what he can do when the pressure is on.

Buonanotte said: “I think the goal at Chelsea and also having minutes from the start of games are both important. They generate confidence.

“I’m having more contact with the Premier League and I am very happy.

“It is important for me to transmit that confidence to my team-mates and to the coaches, that they know I can play and am one more they can count on.

“I’m really happy to have this continuity.

“I played the match at Chelsea and now I have played again in the next match.

“I’m getting minutes, I’m getting confidence.

“I’m grateful to the coaching staff for putting this confidence in me and giving me these minutes.”

While the goal at Chelsea came with the sort of magic which will have first caught Albion’s eye, his graft and endeavour have also been notable.

And that’s the guarantee, if you like, which he makes to supporters.

Buonanotte said: “I think the physical aspect is something we have in South America, in Argentina.

“We are players who know how to battle.

“Certainly for me, with my personality that is not negotiable.

“You have to leave everything out on the pitch.

“In terms of the football, a bit of play can work out well or it can work out badly.

“But leaving everything out on the pitch is something that you can’t negotiate and that is something I will always do.”

Like several of the “unknown” young talents “discovered” overseas by Albion, Buonanotte was actually a star in his own right in his homeland.

Like others, he had to give up that status and almost start again in terms of forging a reputation for a new public.

He said: “At the start I knew the first six months or year were going to be hard.

“There were times when things weren’t going so well because I felt I needed to play.

“Things weren’t working out as I wanted but I worked hard.

“My family have always helped me, the coaches too.

“They supported me in difficult times and it is great to pay all that back.

“My girlfriend is with me now and next week my parents and my friend are coming and I’m really happy about that.

“We can celebrate my birthday.

“Brighton is a really nice city.

“I love it here and when I have some spare time I like to go out and walk around and make the most of it.”

Buonanotte’s most recent international commitments have been with Javier Mascherano’s Argentina under-23s but he has also had time with the seniors.

Clearly continued Prem involvement can only help his progress with the world champions, who are firmly on course to make the 2026 tournament.

He said: “I have been with the Argentina under-23s or the seniors and it is always a source of pride for me.

“Every time they call me, I’ll go and give it everything.

“The greatest thing that can happen for an Argentinean is to play for the national team.

“We are very passionate about our country.

“I’m really pleased to go and make the most of every moment.”

Back home, Buonanotte’s former team-mate Francis Mac Allister said the goal at Chelsea reminded him of one he scored for Rosario Central at Atletico Tucuman.

The Albion man can see that.

He said: “I scored one like it but that was from a bit further out. It was very beautiful.

“But I really liked this one at Chelsea because it was in a tight area and, as we say in Argentina, it was a pass into the net.

“The coaching staff had all been telling me I needed to shoot at goal more often.

“So in this position it is important to end the move by giving an assist or having a shot.

“I think I did it well and it ended up as a goal.”