Brighton defender Veltman excited to be entering his peak years

He expressed to the club's website, "I believe I have reached that level of maturity and understanding of the game. Unlike some players who break into the first XI at top clubs in their early twenties, I was still learning when I initially joined Brighton. It was around the age of 30 that I felt more confident in my knowledge of the game, and this has only grown as I've entered my early thirties."

"I’m smarter on the pitch than I was, in terms of game management and what the game is asking from me as a right-back – getting up and down the pitch, for instance."

On Brighton under Hurzeler, he added: "We feel we should have had more points from the home games against Forest and Ipswich, but we are where we are – they say the table doesn’t lie.

"Overall, we have to be positive; we are in a good position, but the fact that we all feel we should be higher is a great mindset to have. While there has been frustration at times, we have also picked up good points against Manchester United and Arsenal, so we need to be positive about the season so far.

"We’ve set the bar high, and we have to keep reaching those levels."