Brighton chief Paul Barber admits it's surreal having a World Cup winner like Alexis Mac Allister on their books.

Mac Allister joined Brighton in a reported £7m deal during January 2019 from Argentinos Juniors, where he initially returned on loan.

He also had a loan stint Boca Juniors and, after making his Argentina debut in September 2019, made his first appearance for the Seagulls in March 2020 against Wolves.

"He comes from a footballing family, his father played for Argentina with [Diego] Maradona actually," Barber told BBC Sport.

"We felt that he could adjust well to playing in the Premier League. We knew it might take a bit of time because he was young and the league is very physically demanding.

"There's not a lot of room for error either in the intensity of the game but we felt he had all of those qualities and over his time here he's become more and more of a regular in our first team.

"He can score goals, he can assist, he can tackle and he has a very competitive edge about him, without being nasty in any way.

"Then off the field he's a very nice, humble man. We're very pleased for him but also that nice bit of reflective glory is good for our club.

"Twenty-five years ago, the thought of having a World Cup winner in our team was a pipe dream and now it's reality, which is incredible. It's wonderful for all of our fans and staff that have been part of that."

Brighton return to action with a Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at Charlton Athletic on Wednesday before leagues games against Southampton (26 December) and Arsenal (31 December).

Barber said Brighton "would be a very poor club" to deny Mac Allister the chance to return to Argentina to celebrate their World Cup triumph.

But he added: "On the other hand, we have got games coming up thick and fast and one of the downsides of the Qatar World Cup is that we haven't yet even completed half a season.

"We've actually got a lot of work to do now and Alexis will be a big part of that. We're all looking forward to it very much."