No Potter, no problem! Leandro Trossard reveals he was challenged by his new boss Roberto De Zerbi to score more goals... so Brighton's hotshot Belgian grabbed a hat-trick against Liverpool as he insists momentum won't waver

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A fortnight ago while he was on international duty with Belgium, Leandro Trossard received a text. It was from his new Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi.

'The message said that he really liked me as a player and wanted a chat when I came back,' Trossard tells Sportsmail. 'He also said he wanted me to score more goals.'

As Trossard talks at Brighton's training ground this week, the match ball from last Saturday's 3-3 draw at Liverpool rests nearby. It was De Zerbi's first game in charge of Brighton and Trossard scored a hat-trick. 

Leandro Trossard is enjoying life at Brighton under new manager Roberto De Zerbi

'It seems the message worked really well,' laughs Trossard.

Goals and Brighton have long been a topic of conversation. The club made brilliant progress under Graham Potter — now at Chelsea — but there was always that feeling there could be a greater end product to their attacking play.

Already this season, that seems to be changing. Brighton won at Manchester United on the opening day and ahead of tonight's game at Tottenham are fourth in the Premier League. On the evidence of one game on Merseyside, the transition from Potter to De Zerbi, an Italian, has also gone well.

Trossard, who has been linked to several high-profile clubs, is open minded about the future

'I knew about him because my best mates are Italian,' explains Trossard.

'I didn't know his style of play but when I was away with Belgium a lot of the guys were saying his style is really good. For example, Dries Mertens played for him at Napoli and he said he really loves to attack and create chances.

'He seems to have a similar way of playing to Graham, possibly even more attacking.'

At Anfield last weekend, Brighton were 2-0 up early and could have scored more before Liverpool struck back to lead. Trossard's late equaliser in front of the Kop ensured he became only the third visiting player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Anfield.

'It's really special to do that,' says Trossard. 'I have had a lot of messages with videos of it and stuff so I haven't had to write my name into YouTube or anything to see it back!'

Potter's departure last month brought to a close three years of progress and the club's choice of replacement was always going to be crucial.

For Trossard, the next few months will also be particularly important to his career. Expected to be in the Belgium squad at the World Cup, he is out of contract at Brighton next summer. Open-minded about his future, he is happy to admit he hopes De Zerbi may play him further up the field. 

Under Potter, the 27-year-old played in a variety of positions, including wing-back. Perhaps this has contributed to his season's best Premier League goal tally being a rather modest eight. Already this season he has five.

Trossard is open to playing in a variety of positions and hopes to play further up the field

'When the new manager told me I needed to score more, I said he needed to give me the chances to do it,' smiled Trossard.

'Because most of the time before a game I didn't know where I was playing. I think that forward is where I'll play most regularly. I don't know whether it will be left, right or centrally but he wants me closer to the goal.

'If I am playing wing-back, you can't expect me to score every game, can you? There are fine margins also. Sometimes things have to go your way but generally the more chances you create, the more goals you will score.

'If you get only two chances and miss them, people will say quickly that you can't score goals. But Manchester City or Liverpool create 15 chances a game and score three.

'City had 30 shots in the Champions League but you wouldn't expect them to score 15 from 30, would you?

'So people say they score a lot but that's because they create so many. This manager wants us to get to that point. If you create 10 and score three of them, that's actually fantastic.'

Having come through the youth academy at Genk — also the starter club for Kevin De Bruyne — Trossard had played much of his football on loan in Belgium before Potter signed him ahead of his first summer at the club in 2019.

His progress has been such that he has been linked to bigger clubs. He is candid on the subject. There have been discussions with Brighton but he says no contract is on the table.

'I am still focused on Brighton and I don't know what will happen in the transfer window,' he says. 'That feels like a long time and the World Cup is in between and if I could have a clear answer I would tell you.

Trossard is hopeful that he can play a significant part for Belgium at the World Cup this winter

'It's not nice for Brighton for me to say already what I want when I don't even know what I want.

'I have to take it game by game. I need to develop. I have to show myself every week on the biggest stage. I just want to play my game and help Brighton to achieve great things.'

In terms of the biggest stage, it is just round the corner with the World Cup only six weeks away.

Belgium are second in the FIFA standings but Trossard feels the days of crushing expectation from the public may be behind them now. For all their talent, Belgium are yet to reach a major final.

'There is a little bit less pressure than the last three tournaments,' adds Trossard.

Trossard says that he remains indebted to Potter and has backed him to succeed at Chelsea

'The most pressure was in 2018 when we beat Brazil (but lost the semi-final). That was our greatest shot. We still have so many good players. When it all links up and fits together, we still have a good chance.

'But maybe it is better for us that the pressure is more on the other countries. So let us work in the shadows, I don't mind that.'

Trossard will be fully in the glare this evening at Tottenham and it feels as though a talented player is on the verge of the second phase of his time in the Premier League.

He remains indebted to Potter — 'a nice guy, really normal' — and thinks he will succeed at Chelsea. 'Once he gets his way of playing and style across, they will all get it quite quickly,' he reasons.

Football is all about looking forward, though, and Trossard says Brighton are ready to move on. 'We have developed a lot under Graham so knew also that the chance of him leaving at some point was there,' he adds.

'We probably didn't think it would come so soon in the season. It was a very strange time going into the international break. But maybe it was a gift as well because the club had time to get a new manager in.

'Now I think we couldn't have a better fit for us.'