Brighton & Hove Albion boss Graham Potter has outlined his plans to include Leeds United target Haydon Roberts in the first team.
The 18-year-old centre-back is being monitored by the Whites and Championship clubs including rivals Derby County.
Roberts made his first appearance of the season last week against Portsmouth in the Carabao Cup as Brighton won 4-0.
Our sister title Sussex Live report that Leeds saw a second £800,000 bid rejected for Roberts, who has been capped at England Under-17 and-18 level.
Potter, though has spoken about his plans to integrate Roberts into the Seagulls' first team with Leeds still lurking.
“He’s quite a quiet guy. He believes in himself a lot," Potter said.
"He’s self-confident but knows he has still got some work to do in terms of how he is developing.
“That’s just normal because of his age but he’s ambitious, he’s confident and he wants to play.
"He has trained with us for a long time now and I’m looking forward to helping him take the next step, which is to be on the pitch for us and play games.
“It’s obviously not so easy. We have got some good competition in that position. He’s a young player we believe in.”
