Chelsea's 19 year old defender Tariq Lamptey has swapped Stamford Bridge for the Amex Stadium on a permanent move with the player's deal with the blues set to expire in the summer.

Despite Chelsea offering the English born Ghanaian a contract extension, he felt a move away will boost his chances of first team football as at Chelsea he will be competing with Caesar Azpilicueta and Reece James.

Tariq had offers from French Ligue 1 side Lille who wanted him i n the summer but was keen on staying in England.

He made his Chelsea debut in the blues' 2-1 triumph at Arsenal in the Premier League and made further two appearance but has decided his future lies outside Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea announced his departure on their official website with this statement below.

Tariq Lamptey has today completed a permanent transfer to Brighton and Hove Albion.

The 19-year-old played three times for Chelsea this season, making his debut as a second-half substitute at the Emirates when we beat Arsenal 2-1 in December.

He also came off the bench in back-to-back FA Cup ties against Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge and away at Hull City last week but, respecting the wishes of a young player who sees his future elsewhere and whose contract is due to expire at the end of the season, we are allowing him to move clubs during this transfer window.

Lamptey signed for the Blues at the age of eight and progressed through the Academy ranks as a diminutive, pacey wide player who can operate in either a defensive or attacking role on the right flank.

He was part of our Under-18s side that won an unprecedented quadruple in 2017/18 under the management of current assistant head coach Jody Morris, including the FA Youth Cup that was secured with a 7-1 aggregate victory over Arsenal. His goal away at Manchester United also rounded off the scoring as the young Blues lifted the national league title the following week.

We thank Tariq for his service and wish him well in his future career.