In Focus: Deniz the Menace boosting Brighton’s European push

Brighton are closing in on European qualification for next season after beating Premier League title hopefuls Arsenal 3-0.

Roberto De Zerbi's team go into Thursday's match against Newcastle in sixth place on 58 points, having played two fewer games than Tottenham and Aston Villa.

A place in the Europa League is in the Seagulls' hands and striker Deniz Undav could be a decisive figure in the team's tricky run-in, with a battle against Manchester City still to come.

The German scored against the Gunners after coming off the bench and looks to be finding his feet on the South Coast.

Ahead of Brighton's trip to Newcastle, we run the rule over the 26-year-old who lit up the Belgian top flight.

Glowing reputation

Undav was acquired last January from Union Saint-Gilloise and then spent the remainder of 2021-22 on loan in Belgium.

He finished with an impressive 25 goals from just 33 appearances as Les Unionistes finished top of the regular season table.

The right-footed forward netted two or more goals on eight separate occasions, including a four-goal haul against KV Oostende and a hat-trick against OH Leuven.

Undav has not been able to replicate those sorts of numbers in a Brighton shirt yet, but did bag his first brace at the Amex Stadium in the 6-0 mauling of Wolves.

De Zerbi belief

De Zerbi is eager for the striker to start believing in his own ability again, as he is competing against Danny Welbeck, Evan Ferguson and Julio Enciso for a regular starting berth.

After the win over Wolves, the Italian boss said: "He is one of my biggest problems at Brighton and I want to explain why. He has big potential, he has big quality but it seems like he doesn't believe in himself.

"I would like to help him believe more in himself because he has quality. He has everything to be a player in the first XI.

"But football can wait for no one. He has to understand fast because time in football flies."

Brighton spark

Undav's game time in 2022-23 has been limited. However, he still boasts the best minutes-per-goal ratio in the Brighton squad.

The ex-SV Meppen ace nets every 138 minutes of Premier League action, with Ferguson the next best in the department on 181 minutes.

When it comes to chances created, Undav is superior to the Irishman, Welbeck and Alexis Mac Allister — producing the goods every 59 minutes.

Newcastle beware

Brighton's No21 will fancy the chance of adding to his goal tally when his team lock horns with Eddie Howe's on Tyneside.

The Magpies' previously impenetrable defence has not kept a clean sheet in their last eight matches, shipping 12 goals in that time.

If De Zerbi brings out a Michael Jordan video to motivate Undav and the rest of his players again, it could be a long evening for Newcastle.

Following the 3-0 win against Arsenal, the German goal scorer revealed: "To the whole team, he [De Zerbi] showed us a video from a famous person — Michael Jordan.

"He was the — for me, it's LeBron James, but let's say he's the greatest basketball player ever — and he showed us how he got motivated and how he motivated himself every game."

Undav is not there yet but looks like he could be yet another slam dunk for the Seagulls' recruitment team.