Brighton attacker Simon Adingra has revealed the influence of Chelsea hero Michael Essien on his career.

Adingra came through Ghana's Right to Dream academy before playing for FC Nordsjaelland, where Essien now coaches.

He told Brighton's website: The academy has a partnership with FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark, so for all the players who show promise, they get invited to the club I started off at first with their [Nordsjaelland's] U19 side and showed what I could do – then I progressed to the first team the following year.

"Yes, he [Essien] was part of the staff when I was playing there and he always gave me a lot of advice. He also gave me a lot of advice on the Premier League: how the football is, the intensity, and he also said it was a good place to play, with the fans and the atmosphere in the stadiums.

"When you receive advice from someone who has played at that level before, you pay much more attention because you can trust what he is saying."