De Zerbi admits he did not know Pedro before striker joined Brighton

Brighton coach Roberto De Zerbi has revealed he had not heard of Brazilian forward Joao Pedro before he was signed last summer.

The Seagulls purchased the striker from Watford for a club-record fee last May and the marksman took his tally for the South Coast outfit to 15 with his brace at Stoke this afternoon.

Speaking after the 4-2 FA Cup victory at the Bet365 Stadium, De Zerbi said: "The credit for Joao Pedro is to the club.

"The recruitment department told me the name of Joao. I didn't know Joao before he came with us.

"I love Joao Pedro and I know his potential. I know how he can improve and become important for us.

"I think he can reach a higher level and to reach that level he can play better, he can push more and more."

Premier League side Brighton went behind to a Jan Paul van Hecke own goal after 16 minutes but were back on level terms with their Championship opposition before half-time thanks to Pervis Estupinan.

Skipper Lewis Dunk's effort was cancelled out by Lewis Baker's penalty but Pedro's brace booked the Seagulls' spot in the fourth round.

De Zerbi was happy his team avoided a replay and can now enjoy a mid-season break before they return to league action at home to Wolves on January 22.

The Italian boss added: "We knew that it would a tough game, there are no easy games at this level.

"But I think we deserved to win, we played well for 90 minutes. 

"We conceded the first goal after making two mistakes when we had chances to score but after that moment I think we played better than Stoke and I'm happy with my players and the performance.

"I asked them to play seriously, like it was in the Premier League or Europa League and they did it.

"It's a great thing not to have a replay as we're playing a lot of games already, this win will give us a week to recover and work in a different way."