Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hürzeler said that midfielder Mats Wieffer has the potential to become a “top” Premier League player.
Albion, who host Brentford this evening (Friday 27 December), are without a win in their past seven matches as they go into the game against the Bees.
Wieffer, who scored his first goal for Brighton in the club’s 1-1 draw with West Ham United last Saturday (21 December), joined from Feyenoord in the summer.
Hürzeler has been talking up the Dutchman’s impact during his first season on the south coast.
The German boss said: “Nowadays you call it the holding six and I think that this is one of the most important positions in our team.
“He is very good in possession. He has good passing and a good understanding of the game. Out of possession he is very athletic.
“He is a fast and tall player, so he has the whole package to be a top, top player in the Premier League.
“He needed a little bit of time to adapt to the intensity and to the speed of everything as it is different to the league he played before but he was always there in training and he always tried to improve.”
The Dutch midfielder was substituted off in the 56th minute with a knock at the London Stadium against West Ham.
Hürzeler said that hoped that any injury suffered by the £25 million midfielder had not been so serious that he could feature tonight.
He said: “We have to see day by day how he’s going. It’s not perfect how he came from the game but we’re hoping that it’s not a big issue.”
Brentford suffered their first home defeat of the season last week when they were beaten 2-0 by high-flying Nottingham Forest.
Hürzeler believes that Thomas Frank’s west London side can cause problems, especially from set-pieces, at the Amex Stadium.
He said: “They are really intense. They focus on things they can influence. For example, kick-off is a chance to score. A set-piece is a big chance to score. They really take care of small details.”
