Arriving from Paris Saint-Germain’s U19s last summer, Romaric Yapi was always going to be one for the future at Brighton & Hove Albion.
The versatile right-sided player has only made one appearance so far under Graham Potter, coming in a 3-1 loss to Aston Villa in the EFL Cup last September.
Otherwise, it’s most been Premier League 2 football for the 19-year-old, who is still adapting to life at Brighton, which is a far cry from the hubbub of France’s capital.
That being said, he’s loving life in England, as he explained in an interview with France Football.
Speaking to the French magazine about his experience at the Amex Stadium so far, Yapi was asked how he felt his first season with Brighton had gone.
He said: “I’m very satisfied, just a bit gutted the coronavirus stopped me in my tracks… otherwise, I’m really happy. The club, great. The players, great too. So, really, I’m very happy about this year. I was played, I integrated the team, I worked. It was going well.
“I gave myself the tools to play in the Cup with the professionals, especially. I think it all paid off. I’m just a bit gutted, as I said… But I hope that I will be able to prove even more in the future”.
The youngster explained that while it was a ‘bit difficult’ at first, he was surprised how quickly everyone spoke to him when he arrived at the Premier League club, with everyone ‘happy’ for him to be there, whether it be the staff or the players.
Describing Brighton as an ‘incredible’ town, where you can do ‘little outings’ where everyone goes for a wander together, Yapi feels there’s ‘nothing better’.
As for the club itself, he said: “It’s impressive. There’s things here you wouldn’t find in France. They’re more assiduous here. It’s very different. You arrive in a Premier League club, and, coming from PSG, you wonder how it’ll be, but Brighton, for me, when it comes to structure etc… they’re far ahead.
“They’re ready, structured. There’s nothing wrong and no faux-pas. It’s really quite good. The training centre, for example, is perfect. On all that, there’s nothing to say. I was pleasantly surprised”.
The youngster also appreciates what has been put in place by Graham Potter, which is for the U23s to play the same type of football as the first-team, making any transition from one to the other far easier.
He concluded: “It’s really cool to have the teams on the same wavelength. The first-team manager talks to us a lot too. It’s great for us, for the youngsters and the club in general”.
