Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi believes there is more to come from Solly March after handing the in-form winger a new contract.
Sussex-born March has signed a new deal keeping him at his only club until 2026.
The 28-year-old has scored seven goals this season, all of which have come after the World Cup break, including the winner against derby rivals Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
“It’s great news, he deserves this new contract,” De Zerbi said at his press conference ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final against Grimsby.
“We are happy for him. I am happy for him because he is my player and I want the great players to stay with me. (Adam) Lallana, (Alexis) Mac Allister, (Moises) Caicedo and March, they are very big players and I am really pleased for them and for me.
“I have given him the confidence, maybe another way to play, another possibility to score more goals, but the praise is not something that I deserve.
“Solly was and is a great player and I knew that before I started to work here.
“I think he can improve in ball possession and I would like him to stay more inside of the game, but I’m delighted for him and his performances.”
Brighton were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Charlton so De Zerbi is not taking League Two Grimsby lightly.
“We started to think about Grimsby at the end of the Palace game and we know very well the importance and the difficulty of the game,” he added.
“Is Charlton a reminder of what can go wrong? Yes, but I think we didn’t make the mistake of arrogance. We played well, I remember. We didn’t find the right moment, the right way to score, the problem wasn’t arrogance.
“We have to play with tempo, without arrogance, but we are Brighton and if we play at the same level as against Palace in the last game, we have a big chance to win the game.”
