What more can Tariq Lamptey do at Brighton?

Tariq Lamptey has put pen to paper and committed his short-term future to Brighton after the announcement of his new one-year extension at the club.

Lamptey has been at Brighton since 2020 and has been through a lot over the last five years.

It’d be easy to say Tariq Lamptey could have run his time at the Seagulls, but there is more than meets the eye with our starman on the right.

Injury Woes…

It is no secret that Lamptey has struggled massively on the injuries front. In fact, he has missed a total of 563 days with different forms of injury since the 2020/21 season. Almost two years of the five spent at the club!

Despite this, the impact the Ghanaian has made on the pitch has been second to very little.

Lamptey struggled mostly with a recurring hamstring injury, that ultimately plagued the remarkable progress he made after leaving Chelsea. Sometimes the biggest enemy of a player with an abundance of pace is the muscles struggling to keep up with the intensity. As a player who was prominent in using his pace to his advantage, it was inevitable that it could be a ticking time bomb.

Lamptey underwent surgery for the hamstring issue, which somewhat helped his cause, even if it did keep him out for a prolonged period.

Lockdown Lamptey

Tariq Lamptey is lockdown. One of the very finest products of the lockdown era. Since that time, and throughout the injury crisis, I once called his glory days “Lockdown Lamptey”. The best version of himself that we have ever seen.

At the time, Graham Potter liked to use him as an exciting wing-back. Utilising his pace to not only bomb up-and-down the wings but cause havoc inverting into midfield.

Tariq Lamptey battles Allan Saint-Maximin [Image via Twitter/X]

Cast your minds back to the notorious travel up to the North East. During a period when Brighton struggled to score goals frequently under Potter. Neal Maupay, Aaron Connolly and Leandro Trossard were subject to heavy criticism.

Albion dismantled a Newcastle side 0-3, who occupied a certain Allan Saint-Maximin at the time. Saint-Maximin was dangerous. Hot property between 2019-20, and most of the Premier League feared his tenacity and unpredictability. Not many players could’ve been much more unpredictable than the beginning of Lamptey’s Brighton career, though.

Lamptey started in his usual late 2020 electric nature. Terrorising the Newcastle defence, and helped open an early scoring after being brought down for a penalty. With thanks to the dynamism off the right, Albion were 2-0 ahead after just seven minutes. The Geordies were shellshocked, and Saint-Maximin was under direct fire.

Lamptey forced Saint-Maximin into an early 30-minute substitution, and that performance will live long in the memory of Albion fans. The crazy part is, it wasn’t the only time. He was rampant, every single week. The pocket rocket was like having a real-life cheat code for winning football matches and creating more chances.

Links to clubs like Bayern Munich were in before you knew it, and the future seemed so bright.

What has happened since?

Since 2021, Brighton have enjoyed some of the most successful years in the club’s history at the top level. Qualifying for the Europa League, beating giants, and playing the world’s finest football.

Roberto De Zerbi was significant in reviving Lamptey’s career. After a long time out with injuries, and struggling to get back into Graham Potter’s side shortly before leaving the club, the question marks over whether it was time up for him started to creep in.

During 2023, De Zerbi played the best football I have ever seen. Simultaneously, Albion had solidified both Joel Veltman and Pervis Estupinan into the side on either full-back flanks. Both players were capable of performing fairly consistently, and it suited De Zerbi’s style of play with exciting wingers in Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma.

De Zerbi identified Lamptey’s ability to switch wings, and during a time when Pervis Estupiñan suffered injuries, it was evident the left-back role suited him well. A certain game springs to mind against Manchester United at Old Trafford when Ansu Fati made his debut for the club, and the inverted full-back was awarded ‘Player of the Match’.

A similar style performance to the good old days, we finally got to see “Lockdown Lamptey” again.

Some spells have still been bright, and it is important to remember that Tariq Lamptey is still just 24-years-old. Now seen as an influential member at the club, the loyalty has been reflected both ways throughout his time at the Seagulls.

What does the future hold?

Under Fabian Hürzeler things have continued to look bright. Lamptey has shone from both sides of the pitch and enjoyed his best goal-scoring and assisting season to date in 2024/25.

The memorable goals against Aston Villa and Leicester were ones to remember, particularly the glorious strike at the King Power.

Tariq Lamptey celebrates at Villa Park [Image via Twitter/X]

Lamptey has shown further signs of adapting into a winger’s role, which could see him in a more advanced role again, as well as providing good cover at both left and right back. Two positions which are harder than most to find a good quality cover for.

A further one-year deal should be adequate to settle into a squad role under Hürzeler. Injuries have hampered his career, but they haven’t changed the fan’s love for the little man from London.