Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister has told the club’s website that the support and confidence he gets from his teammates has helped him settle at Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 22-year-old has had a tricky 18 months since his return from his loan at Boca Juniors in January 2020. The global pandemic quickly set in, and he played just one game for Brighton before the season was halted.
However, once the Premier League season got back underway he played his part in the Seagulls securing their league status before making just under 30 appearances last season as Graham Potter’s side secured a fifth straight Premier League campaign.
'I feel comfortable'
“I feel settled in Brighton,” he told the club’s website. “My girlfriend and I are very happy in the city. I feel comfortable at the club and I'm going step-by-step with the language.
“We like to go to restaurants, the beach and the pier! We have found a few places that we enjoy. It’s a lovely city with very kind people.
“It has been a tough 18 months because of the strange situation with the pandemic, but I am looking forward to next season, and to try and bring my family here so they can get to know the club a lot better."
The Argentine played his part in some big moments for the Seagulls last season, including the 1-1 draw at Crystal Palace - in which he scored a late equaliser - and the emphatic 3-2 win over Manchester City.
“Against Crystal Palace and against Manchester City, they were the two best moments of the season for me,” he added.
“Against City, how we won, it was fantastic, that was the game of the year. It was a special moment in my career; you want to play against the best teams and we did really well against one of the best in the world. We enjoyed it a lot.
'I want to play every match'
“Looking to the new season I want to play every match, to help the team, to support my teammates and achieve the aim of being in the top ten in the Premier League.”
Mac Allister is currently preparing to represent his country in the Tokyo Olympics, where he is the only current Premier League Player in the Argentina Olympic squad.
He has three senior caps to his name, and he had made it clear he had hoped to be involved in both the Copa America and Olympics this summer.
However, he omission from the Copa, which Argentina went on to win, has given him time to recover from a busy Premier League season to give his all for the Olympic squad ahead of a return to action on these shores in August.