Brighton and Hove Albion defender Tariq Lamptey has revealed why he decided to depart his boyhood club Chelsea despite the club keen on him extending his stay.

The 21 year old right full back joined Brighton in January 2020 from Chelsea but such has been his performance that Brighton have been forced to reward him with an improved contract to fend off interest from other clubs.

He joined Chelsea as a young boy and rose through the ranks to play for the first team but saw his path to regular football blocked and had to depart the blues.

"I was privileged to be in a good place where they [Chelsea] allowed me to develop and I’m grateful to them," Lamptey told talkSPORT.

"But I feel it was time to try and get regular game time and just try and take my game to the next level and keep developing. In Brighton, there was a fantastic club who have a good plan and I saw it as a chance to take.

"When I was at Chelsea, Reece James was in the age group older than me. He was always giving me good advice. I’m happy to see him doing well and hopefully, that continues. There was a good academy at Chelsea and they give you the tools you need to try and develop your game.

"It just so happens that they have a lot of players in that position but they’ve got boys all around that can take it to the next level."