Tom McGill

McGill spent years working his way up through Brighton's academy before a string of loan moves to smaller English clubs gave him the regular first team football a young goalkeeper at a Premier League club rarely gets otherwise. Those loans exposed him to a different kind of pressure, matches where a mistake could cost a struggling side real points rather than simply criticism. His handling under direct physical pressure now looks assured rather than tentative.

The stranger part of his story is that he has become a full international for Canada while still waiting for a proper chance in Brighton's first team. He represents his country on a big stage while remaining a squad option at club level, a gap between recognition and opportunity that is unusual. Whether Brighton hand him the games his country already trusts him with is the question that follows him.