Brighton goalkeeper coach Ben Roberts has revealed their relationships with local non-league clubs are crucial for player development.

Roberts has been pleased to see a number of the academy keepers progressing well at various non-league clubs.

He said, “Our whole goalkeeping group have been excellent on the training pitch and it's going well on the field too. I'm really happy with how the season has gone.

“Away from the club, we've got Christian [Walton] at Wigan, Bailey Vose at Welling and George Bentley, a first-year scholar, has had two games in the Bostik League Premier Division.

“He had two games at Worthing and played in front of over 700 people, which you can't replicate. For a young kid to play in front of that many people is brilliant."