Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has warned any proposal to introduce blue cards and sin bins will destroy football.

It was revealed on Thursday that a trial could commence soon where a blue card would be shown for dissent and professional fouls where the offenders would be sin binned for 10 minutes.

FIFA has since clarified the trial will not occur in elite football, while football’s lawmakers, the International Football Association Board, will not publish plans for the sin bin trial until next month.

However, Postecoglou was unequivocal in his belief it would be a wrong move.

“One team being down to 10 men for 10 minutes, you know what it’s going to do to our game? It’s going to destroy it, mate,” Postecoglou insisted.

“You’re going to have one team just sitting there trying to waste time for 10 minutes waiting for a guy to come on.

“Every other sport is trying to declutter. All we’re trying to do is go the other way for some bizarre reason.”

Postecoglou talked at length about the laws of the game ahead of Saturday’s visit of Brighton.

The Spurs boss defended goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who conceded from another corner during last weekend’s 2-2 draw at Everton.

Vicario failed to deal with Dwight McNeil’s delivery into his six-yard area while under pressure from Jack Harrison, which was also the case in the 1-0 loss to Manchester City last month.

Ruben Dias crowded round Vicario on that occasion from a Kevin De Bruyne corner and the Tottenham goalkeeper’s flap resulted in Nathan Ake scoring.

Spurs have written to Professional Game Match Officials Limited this week to get clarification over why both goals have not fallen under the bracket of encroachment.

“We have sent some stuff to get some clarification,” Postecoglou revealed.

“I’m going to get called out for this, but there was a thing that was quite evident in the game that the goalkeeper was a protected species. I don’t think that’s just me making that up.

“The reason people used to say that was that if you really impeded a goalkeeper in any way in the six-yard box, you are going to get a foul. I knew that as a player, I knew that as a manager.

“I think there’s been a shift there where now to me, it’s obstruction.

“If you’re standing in front of a goalkeeper stopping him before a ball has even arrived, in layman’s terms that’s obstruction.

“With the goalkeepers, what’s that going to do now? Well, it’s pretty much opened it up that you can surround the goalkeeper and crowd him and put balls on top of him and just wait for the scramble to finish and see what happens.

“I was really proud of Vic the other day. I think they had nine corners after we conceded and I think he dealt with just about every other one by coming out and actually having a crack at it

“I can’t praise him highly enough over the way he handled it.

“And the whole thing where people say, ‘you’ve got to be stronger’, well, what does that mean?

“If he pushes or does anything to a player, with VAR, you’ve got no chance. You’re going to get a penalty against you.”

Tottenham have captain Son Heung-min back for the visit of Brighton and Postecoglou will hope his presence can boost their unlikely title bid.

Opta Analyst this week claimed Spurs have a 0.1 per cent chance of winning the Premier League this season.

“What did it say, 0.1 per cent? So we (have) got a chance then. Let’s go for it. No problems, no issues with that. We’ve got a chance,” Postecoglou smiled.

Ange Postecoglou hailed the professionalism of Tottenham captain Son Heung-min ahead of his club return for Saturday’s visit of Brighton.

Son suffered Asian Cup disappointment with South Korea on Tuesday as they lost 2-0 to Jordan at the semi-final stage.

The South Korea skipper cut a dejected figure at full-time, but was quickly back on a plane to the UK and trained on Friday to make himself available for Spurs’ fixture with Brighton.

Postecoglou said: “It wouldn’t surprise anyone to see him be like that.

“He was very, very disappointed with Korea’s exit because they haven’t won it for quite a while and after they got past Australia, when you get to the semi-final stage, you feel so close.

“But anyone who watched the tournament (knows) he gave everything for his nation and didn’t leave anyone questioning his commitment to his country.

“He was spent by the end of it but I spoke to him not long after it and he was keen to come back, get amongst the boys again. He was keen to come back here.

“It didn’t surprise me that he wanted to train straight away and be available. That’s why he is the person he is.”

The return of 12-goal Son is the latest boost for Tottenham, who had Pape Sarr involved at Everton and will have Yves Bissouma available for this weekend’s clash with his old club.

Bissouma endured a mixed Africa Cup of Nations campaign with Mali after he struggled with illness, but Postecoglou provided an update on his fitness.

He explained: “Yves had a slight form of malaria before the tournament started, but it cleared up after the tournament started. He had no issues after that.”

Manor Solomon (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (hamstring) are the only players on the treatment table at Tottenham, but ex-Fulham attacker Solomon could return by the end of February.

Postecoglou is excited to have his options in midfield and attack boosted ahead of the final three months of the season.

Spurs start a run of three consecutive home matches when Brighton visit, but the away side will be without manager Roberto De Zerbi, who has a touchline ban to serve following his third yellow card of the campaign in last weekend’s win over Crystal Palace.

“It’s disappointing that Roberto won’t be there because I’ve got a lot of time for him and a great respect for him,” Postecoglou added.

“It’s the existence we have as managers these days. I think I’m one card away from sitting in the stands, so I shouldn’t cast judgement on others.

“So disappointed he won’t be on the touchline but hopefully I’ll get to say hello to him at some point.”

Ex-Tottenham forward Jermain Defoe had contemplated giving up on his managerial dream, but remains determined to follow in the footsteps of Chris Hughton and become a trailblazer for black coaches.

Former England international Defoe called time on his distinguished playing career in 2022 and has spent the past 18 months coaching in the Spurs academy.

Defoe is well aware of potential hurdles and the low number of black and ethnic minority managers in English football, which has been further hit by the January sackings of Darren Moore and Troy Deeney by Huddersfield and Forest Green respectively.

Deeney’s maiden managerial tenure lasted 29 days but Defoe will draw inspiration from Hughton’s three decades as a coach when he does eventually take his first steps into the dugout.

“For me going into management and hopefully getting an opportunity, it can show the next generation that if you do want to become a coach, look I’ve done it,” Defoe told the PA news agency.

“I look at someone like Chris Hughton, who has had a long career in the game. I was with Chris at Tottenham when he was assistant and he’s managed Newcastle and Brighton, big clubs.

“He’s had a fantastic career so I look at that and I know there has not been many. Troy Deeney recently lost his job, Darren Moore too and Patrick Vieira was obviously at Palace.

“At one point I did think, ‘what is the point of going into it? Am I going to get an opportunity’?

“Because there are people I speak to with fantastic careers, icons of the game that I looked up to but these ex-players talk about not getting an interview or a call back.

“You do think about it but I just love football.

“For my journey, with what I am doing at Spurs, the badges I have got, I would like to believe I will get an opportunity.

“I don’t want a job because I am black and it ticks boxes, I want to get a job because I am good enough and I’ve done the hard work I needed to do.

“I am more than confident that when the opportunity comes, I will do well.”

Defoe, who was at St George’s Park last week for the launch of McDonald’s Fun Football free grassroots football coaching development and education programme, enjoyed an excellent first season as a coach at Tottenham.

He played his part as Stuart Lewis’ Under-18s claimed success in two Premier League Cup competitions, while this term they have reached the FA Youth Cup quarter-finals and Jamie Donley and Alfie Dorrington have been promoted into Ange Postecoglou’s first team.

“It is an exciting group. Last year was brilliant when we won two trophies,” Defoe admitted.

“We have some really exciting players and I would love to see them go on and have a career in the game.”

Defoe’s current focus is helping Spurs’ academy stars, but he has received interest from clubs over his managerial ambitions and already knows the make-up of his coaching staff when he does ultimately become a head coach.

The 20-goal England striker has also regularly watched back clips of Tottenham first-team training and praised Postecoglou for getting the club buzzing again.

Defoe added: “I’ve been at the club a long time now. Nine years as a player, second year as a coach, so I know what it feels like when the place is buzzing and the stadium is rocking at the minute.

“Of course the results are the most important thing, but the performances and how the team is playing under Ange, it has been fantastic.”

:: Jermain Defoe was supporting McDonald’s Fun Football’s new coaching qualification in partnership with Kick it Out, British Blind Sport, and England Futsal to make Fun Football the most inclusive grassroots programme in the UK. Register for your local session here – mcdonalds.co.uk/football

Son Heung-min will return to Tottenham’s training ground on Thursday after South Korea’s Asian Cup exit.

Son suffered disappointment with his nation on Tuesday after they lost 2-0 to Jordan in the semi-finals.

While the majority of the South Korea squad have returned to their home country along with manager Jurgen Klinsmann, Son headed straight to the UK and will link up with his Spurs team-mates again on Thursday.

It raises the prospect of Tottenham captain Son being available for Saturday’s visit of Brighton.

Spurs have been without Son for four matches over the past month, claiming only one victory during that period without their 12-goal attacker.

Ange Postecoglou could have Yves Bissouma in contention for the clash with Brighton after Mali were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday, but the midfielder will be assessed after struggling with illness during the tournament.

Roy Hodgson vowed to carry on fighting as Crystal Palace manager despite some of the club’s fans turning on him during the 4-1 Premier League defeat at Brighton.

Hodgson cut a forlorn figure on the touchline as goals from Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro once again left his future under scrutiny.

Palace sacked their previous manager, Patrick Vieira, following a 1-0 defeat in this fixture last season so Hodgson, on a run of just four wins from 17 matches, could be on thin ice.

The 76-year-old knew it was not going to be his day when Michael Olise, on as a substitute, lasted just eight minutes before suffering a recurrence of a hamstring injury.

That led to chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ from the away end with the Brighton fans, never shy to revel in their rivals’ misfortune, responding with ‘Super Roy Hodgson’.

“Wonderful, wasn’t it?” quipped Hodgson. “Is it nice? No it isn’t. Yes, my years of management have given the me resilience me to cope with that, absolutely, and taunts from away supporters are part and parcel of our lives.

“At the moment our fans aren’t very happy with everything that is happening at the club and they are making their feelings known as well.

“But I signed up to be the manager and coach of this football club and I’ve got the strength, resilience and determination to see things through. I’m certainly not going to be cowed by that type of thing.”

Hodgson is hamstrung by the absence of Eberechi Eze through injury but his decision to risk his other star man, Olise, when his side were 3-0 down raised eyebrows.

“I was told he couldn’t start the game, everyone was quite comfortable with that,” added Hodgson.

“But they told me, and he told me, he was fine to be on the bench and to play in the second half. Unfortunately I don’t have a crystal ball and I wasn’t to know that would lead to a recurrence of his injury.”

A late goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta could not spark a Palace revival and the loss of captain Marc Guehi to a first-half knee injury just compounded a thoroughly rotten day.

Then goalkeeper Dean Henderson and defender Joachim Andersen had a heated exchange with some supporters at the final whistle.

“They are realistic enough to know the fans aren’t going to be happy to see their team lose 4-1 and I think the players did the right thing,” insisted Hodgson.

“No one is less happy than ourselves. At least they went over to thank the fans and let them know we are grateful for their support. If people react, so be it.”

It was Brighton’s biggest win over their fierce rivals since 1956 and the perfect response to the midweek 4-0 defeat at Luton.

Boss Roberto De Zerbi said: “We are very happy because in a derby we made our fans happy, but I’m not surprised with the reaction we showed.

“Our win started on Tuesday after the Luton game. I’m really pleased with the result, the reaction, the energy.”

Roy Hodgson cut a forlorn figure as Crystal Palace slumped to a dispiriting 4-1 defeat at their fierce rivals Brighton in the Premier League.

Goals from Lewis Dunk, Jack Hinshelwood, Facundo Buonanotte and Joao Pedro once again left the future of the veteran Eagles boss under scrutiny.

Palace sacked their previous manager, Patrick Vieira, following a 1-0 defeat in this fixture last season so Hodgson, on a run of just four wins from 17 matches, could be on thin ice.

The 76-year-old is hamstrung by the absence of Eberechi Eze through injury while his other key man, Michael Olise, was only deemed fit enough for the bench.

Yet when Olise was sent on, at half-time, his side were already 3-0 down, and the winger lasted just eight minutes before pulling up again.

A late goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta could not mask the flaws in Hodgson’s ailing side, and the loss of captain Marc Guehi to a first-half knee injury just compounded a thoroughly rotten day for the Eagles.

If Brighton were suffering a hangover from their 4-0 midweek drubbing at Luton, they were over it in double quick time.

With their first attack and just two minutes in, Tariq Lamptey forced a corner down the left, Pascal Gross swung the ball in and Dunk gave Joachim Andersen a gentle shove as he rose above him to glance into the net.

Palace were perpetually living dangerously at the back and when a Pedro cross found Buonanotte, the shortest player on the pitch planted a header straight at Dean Henderson.

Their cause was not helped by the knee injury suffered by Guehi, who looked distraught when he limped off midway through the first half to be replaced by deadline-day signing Adam Wharton.

Guehi’s absence was keenly felt when 18-year-old Hinshelwood, not exactly the height of a basketball player himself, nipped in to head home a cross from Lamptey.

Just 86 seconds later it was three after debutant Wharton was dispossessed by Gross, who strolled forward before slipping in Buonanotte to score.

Dismayed Palace fans unfurled their anti-board banner, which first got an airing during the 5-0 hammering at Arsenal a fortnight ago.

It was easy to see where their frustrations lie. They had to wait until first-half stoppage time for their side’s first shot in anger, a long-range effort from Jefferson Lerma which was deflected wide.

When Olise, who was presumably not remotely fit, limped off, chants of ‘you don’t know what you’re doing’ emanated from the away end. The Brighton fans, never shy to revel in their rivals’ misfortune, responded with ‘Super Roy Hodgson’.

A brief, belated Palace flurry saw Mateta head home a cross from Andersen, but any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Pedro played a one-two with Danny Welbeck and slotted home to finish the Eagles off.

Crystal Palace swooped for midfielder Adam Wharton in a reported £22million switch from Blackburn to make the biggest Premier League move of transfer deadline day.

The Eagles – fighting to stay clear of being dragged into a relegation battle – are said to have paid a fee of £18million, which could potentially see a further £4m in add-ons for the talented 19-year-old.

Wharton, who has signed a five-and-a-half-year contract, feels Crystal Palace is the right place for him to further his ambitions.

“The way they have brought players from the Championship and developed them into world-class players in the Premier League is something that stood out to me,” Wharton said on the club’s website. “It is a big reason why I wanted to come here.”

Burnley, who sit second bottom of the table, have completed a loan deal for Montpellier defender Maxime Esteve until the end of the season.

The 21-year-old centre-back watched Burnley’s 3-1 defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday night before completing the formalities of his deal ahead of Thursday night’s deadline.

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“I am really happy and ever since I first heard about the move I wanted to move here,” Esteve said.

“I have followed the Premier League since being a young child and had only pictured myself ever being here, so I am really excited,” he said.

Plenty more deals look set to be done ahead of the 11pm cut-off, with Fulham chasing a loan deal for Chelsea striker Armando Broja.

PA understands West Ham’s Pablo Fornals has permission to discuss a £7million move to Real Betis, while Said Benrahma is in France undergoing a medical at Lyon.

Brentford head coach Thomas Frank, though, says that Ivan Toney will not be leaving the club.

England striker Toney has been linked with Premier League rivals such as Arsenal and Chelsea in the January window.

The 27-year-old has scored 34 goals in 68 top-flight games for the Bees and Frank insists Toney will stay put after a month of speculation.

“This will be breaking news, OK – but Ivan will stay,” Frank said at his press conference previewing Monday’s clash with Manchester City.

Earlier, top-flight clubs Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Newcastle all completed deals to strengthen their squads.

Forest signed 18-year-old striker Rodrigo Ribeiro on loan from Sporting Lisbon until the end of the season, Morgan Rogers swapped Middlesbrough for Villa Park in a reported £8million switch and Newcastle brought in teenage midfielder Alfie Harrison from Manchester City.

Brighton midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud has joined Stuttgart on loan.

Ribeiro’s move to Forest could become permanent, and he told the club’s YouTube channel: “I promise to work every day and to keep going with the work and help the team.”

In the Sky Bet Championship, promotion-chasing Ipswich signed Wales forward Kieffer Moore on loan from Bournemouth.

West Brom brought Celtic winger Mikey Johnston to The Hawthorns, versatile Manchester City player Josh Wilson-Esbrand signed for Cardiff until the end of the season and Liverpool defender Billy Koumetio linked up with Blackburn on loan.

Earlier, midfielder Alex Pritchard completed a move from Sunderland to Birmingham.

The 30-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to reunite with former Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray.

Sunderland reacted quickly to fill the gap in their squad, signing winger Romaine Mundle from Standard Liege.

Hull have signed Turkey midfielder Abdulkadir Omur from Trabzonspor, while Swansea brought in young forward Charles Sagoe Jr on a six-month loan from Arsenal.

Nottingham Forest and Brighton made early moves in an otherwise sedate start to transfer deadline day.

Forest have been one of the most active clubs in the transfer market in recent times and continued that trend with the signing of Rodrigo Ribeiro from Sporting Lisbon.

The 18-year-old striker has joined on loan until the end of the season in a deal which could become permanent.

Ribeiro came through the ranks in Lisbon and made his professional debut for the club as a late substitute in a Champions League tie against Manchester City in March 2022.

There was an exit rather than an arrival at Brighton, with midfielder Mahmoud Dahoud moving to Stuttgart on loan until the end of the season.

The 28-year-old German joined Albion in June last year from Borussia Dortmund and returns to the Bundesliga after making 14 appearances in all competitions for the club.

Technical director David Weir said: “This is a good move for Mahmoud. It will give him an opportunity to play regularly for a side doing very well towards the top of the Bundesliga. We wish him well for the rest of the campaign.”

In the Sky Bet Championship, midfielder Alex Pritchard completed his move from Sunderland to Birmingham for an undisclosed fee.

The 30-year-old has signed a two-and-a-half-year contract to reunite with former Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray.

“I am happy,” Pritchard told BluesTV.

“My future has been well speculated for a while now and I am just glad to get everything done and just settled and, hopefully, I can just crack on with football.”

Rob Edwards predicted striker Elijah Adebayo has a “high ceiling” to what he can achieve after Luton’s hat-trick hero helped his side to a 4-0 win against Brighton at Kenilworth Road.

The 26-year-old has now scored eight goals in the Premier League this season, with Luton moving out of the bottom three for the first time in nearly two months following the victory.

Adebayo scored his first after just 19 seconds, getting there ahead of goalkeeper Jason Steele to reach Carlton Morris’s header back across goal to nod home.

Chiedozie Ogbene added a second less than two minutes later, beating Steele to the ball as both raced to meet Albert Sambi Lokonga’s ball over the top and sliding it in to cap a sensational opening.

Brighton fell further behind before the break when Adebayo grabbed his second, staying onside to receive Ross Barkley’s pass and lashing the ball inside the near post.

And Adebayo completed his hat-trick after 56 minutes, heading in from Alfie Doughty’s corner as Brighton’s defence did little more than stand and watch.

It was comfortably the Hatters’ best win since returning to the top flight, with Adebayo’s goals the difference.

“He’s become more reliable without the ball,” said Edwards.

“His work-rate has always been great but he’s seeing how important it is to press hard, press the goalkeeper, press his man. He does that tirelessly.

“He’s going to be really difficult to play against. He can defend set-pieces, he’s a threat in the six-yard box, because of his hold-up play and pressing and he’s scoring some goal goals.

“He’s progressing really well.

“He’s got a really high ceiling. If he stays focused and keeps working hard, he can go a long way and have a really good career.”

It was Luton’s third win in five league matches as their bid to survive in the top flight picked up more momentum ahead of Saturday’s trip to Newcastle.

“It’s still only three points,” said Edwards. “It’s good for our confidence and belief. Tonight will get more headlines because of who it was against.

“We were ruthless, and maybe we could have been more ruthless. I was still jumping around at 4-0 because we got a bit sloppy at times.

“We’ve got to keep our foot down. We’ve got to be at full-tilt every day, otherwise we’ve got no chance.”

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi reflected on a defeat for which his side must take collective responsibility.

“It’s difficult to explain,” he said. “We are all responsible for this defeat. It’s very tough to accept, to understand. But I think we can learn a lot from this day, this game.

“We have to remember very well this defeat. But in the same way we have to forget. They are all responsible, me first of all.

“We have to remember from where we started. We are Brighton, we are a good team, we have good players. But to show our qualities, we have to push every day.”

Luton moved out of the Premier League relegation zone as an Elijah Adebayo hat-trick stunned Brighton.

The Hatters leapfrogged Everton with a fantastic 4-0 victory at home to Roberto De Zerbi’s side, who fell behind to Adebayo’s first inside the opening minute.

Kenilworth Road was truly rocking shortly afterwards as Chiedozie Ogbene doubled the lead before Adebayo struck either side of the interval to complete a famous win for Rob Edwards’ men.

Everton slipped into the drop zone after drawing 0-0 in a forgettable contest at Fulham.

At the top of the table, Arsenal ran out 2-1 winners at Nottingham Forest to move up to second behind leaders Liverpool.

After a dull first half, Gabriel Jesus broke the deadlock with a finish from an acute angle before laying on the second for Bukayo Saka.

Substitute Taiwo Awoniyi halved the deficit late on but the Gunners saw out stoppage time to take the three points.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s 17-match unbeaten run at home in the league came to a shuddering halt as they were thrashed 3-1 by Newcastle.

A double from defender Fabian Schar had the away side in charge at the break and they extended their lead through an Alex Moreno own goal – with Ollie Watkins hitting a late consolation for Villa.

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An Eberechi Eze brace helped Crystal Palace twice rally from behind to beat bottom club Sheffield United 3-2 at Selhurst Park.

Ben Brereton-Diaz put the Blades ahead in the first minute and they retook the lead through James McAtee after Eze had levelled for the hosts.

England international Eze was again on hand to equalise with Michael Olise, who had provided the two assists for the Palace goals, hitting the winner to take some of the heat off under-pressure Eagles boss Roy Hodgson.

Luton scored twice in the opening two minutes and 17 seconds en route to a stunning 4-0 win against Brighton at Kenilworth Road.

Aided by a superb hat-trick from striker Elijah Adebayo, this was comfortably the hosts’ biggest Premier League win and their most commanding performance.

It was earned in swashbuckling style as they dismissed an insipid Brighton to move out of the relegation zone for the first time in nearly two months.

Chiedozie Ogbene also netted during a first half in which Roberto De Zerbi’s side simply could not cope with what came their way, a shadow of the team that won the corresponding fixture 4-1 on the opening weekend.

Luton made a start beyond manager Rob Edwards’ most rose-tinted expectations.

Adebayo headed his first after 19 seconds. Ogbene received the ball on the edge of the box and crossed to the far post towards Carlton Morris.

The Hatters captain, leaping determinedly above his marker, nodded back across goal to Adebayo, who got there before goalkeeper Jason Steele to convert.

Brighton barely had time to draw breath before it was two.

Albert Sambi Lokonga’s pinpoint pass dropped in behind the visitors’ defence, which had pushed up, leaving a straight race to the ball between Ogbene and Steele.

It was won comfortably by the fleet-footed Luton winger who toed it beyond the keeper and, with 137 seconds on the clock, poked into an empty goal to cap a breathtaking start.

Rarely, if ever, have Brighton under De Zerbi been so blown away as they were in the opening 25 minutes.

Jordan Clark came close to inflicting further damage when he cut in on his left foot and had a shot blocked by the legs of Steele.

By then, De Zerbi had already lost James Milner to injury, with any pre-game ploy to stymie Luton sinking into disarray.

The stats said Brighton had enjoyed 60 per cent possession but almost all of it had been in their own half, passing themselves in circles in a bid to navigate Luton’s ravenous high pressing.

Pascal Gross scooped a shot more in hope than expectation from outside the box as the Seagulls struggled to come to terms with their predicament.

Lewis Dunk stopped Adebayo with a finely-timed last-ditch slide inside the six-yard box as the striker bore down threatening to wrap the game up after 35 minutes, before Clark had his second good try of the night deflect inches wide.

It was a momentary reprieve.

Adebayo’s second and Luton’s third was a gem and owed everything to the timing of the striker’s run, hanging just behind Brighton’s defensive line until Ross Barkley released his pass.

The finish ripped past Steele at his near post.

Brighton had won three of their previous 15 league games, success this season season being propped up by progress in Europe and in the FA Cup.

Here, they showed nothing of the form that saw them start the campaign with five wins out of six.

Luton’s goals were getting easier to come by.

In the 55th minute Adebayo completed his hat-trick, heading in Alfie Doughty’s corner from amongst a static Brighton defence, the only movement towards the ball coming from striker Joao Pedro who inadvertently flicked it into his opposite number’s path.

Thomas Kaminski made a late save from Danny Welbeck which was worthy of his outfield team-mates’ efforts.

For Brighton, it had been a chastening night.

Roberto De Zerbi believes in-form Brighton top scorer Joao Pedro must sustain performances over 90 minutes to take the final step in becoming a “great, great player”.

Brazilian forward Pedro increased his tally for the season to 18 goals in all competitions with a hat-trick during Saturday’s 5-2 FA Cup win at Sheffield United.

The 22-year-old – a £30million summer signing from Watford – opened his Albion account on the first weekend of the campaign in a 4-1 victory at home to Tuesday evening’s Premier League opponents Luton.

“Joao Pedro’s DNA is of a top player,” said Brighton boss De Zerbi.

“The target of Joao is to play better and better and to keep this mentality because now he’s showing a great mentality, a mentality he needs and we need.

“He’s becoming amazing as a striker because his quality to play in ball possession, to play in between the lines, to make assists were important but in terms of goals, he’s improving a lot.

“The last step to become a great, great player is to play 90 minutes in the same way.

“Sometimes he starts the game not pushing off his best and I would like at the beginning of the game until the end of the game the same mentality.”

Pedro is likely to receive a hostile reception from Luton fans due to his Watford connections.

De Zerbi feels Kenilworth Road is one of the most challenging places to go in the top flight.

The relegation-threatened Hatters have beaten Newcastle and drawn with Liverpool on home soil this term, in addition to suffering single-goal defeats to Tottenham, Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea.

“Playing in the Luton stadium is one of the toughest games in the Premier League because they have a great intensity,” said De Zerbi.

“People think Brighton have to win and it’s normal if Brighton win in Luton but in football there are no easy games and if you want to win you have to push until the end.

“Arsenal and Man City, they won a game at the end of the game and I watched both games and they were very, very difficult games for both teams.”

Seventh-placed Brighton have been linked with a move for Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall before the transfer window closes.

De Zerbi, who has a close relationship with Foxes boss Enzo Maresca, says Dewsbury-Hall has “great quality” but was tight-lipped on the speculation.

“I don’t know anything about him (personally); I know him as a player,” the Italian said of the 25-year-old.

“He has great quality but it’s not my business speaking about other players, especially because Enzo Maresca is my friend and I want to be correct with him.”

Brighton remain without Joel Veltman, Solly March, Simon Adingra, Kaoru Mitoma, Julio Enciso and Ansu Fati.

Barcelona loanee Fati has returned to training following an injury sustained in November but will not be rushed back into first-team action.

“He’s a risk and he’s important for us in the second part of the season,” said De Zerbi.

“We can’t take any risks in this moment.”

Roberto De Zerbi believes there is more to come from hat-trick hero Joao Pedro after he fired Brighton into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Pedro scored his first career treble to earn the Seagulls a 5-2 win at Sheffield United, with Facundo Buonanotte’s brilliant goal and Danny Welbeck’s late effort supplementing an impressive performance at Bramall Lane.

The Brazilian striker, a £30million summer signing from Watford, took his tally to 18 for the season in all competitions but De Zerbi wants more.

“I consider Joao Pedro a big potential player and my expectations for Joao are bigger than he is showing,” the Italian said.

“He is playing very well and he is scoring a lot of goals but I think he can reach another higher level and I push for it because I am working for Brighton but I am working for my players to improve them and for them to be better.”

Brighton made the semi-finals of this competition last season and are dreaming of another run, but have a gruelling schedule coming up with midweek Premier League and cup games before their Europa League campaign resumes.

“We try to play every competition in the best way,” he said. “I don’t know the future, in my head there is only one thing, the Luton game on Tuesday evening.

“We have to think game-by-game and competition-by-competition.”

The Blades rallied from 2-0 down in the first half to draw level thanks to goals from Gus Hamer and Will Osula, but they were outplayed at Bramall Lane.

They were also beaten semi-finalists in last season’s competition but can now focus on their relegation battle in the Premier League, which starts with a midweek trip to Crystal Palace.

Boss Chris Wilder said: “You don’t say it before but when the draw comes out it is a real difficult one to deal with, especially at home with the way they play.

“If we’d have limited them in terms of the decisions we made defensively and made better decisions at the top end of the pitch and had more quality it might have been a tighter game and we could have got a result.

“You just get punished, you can’t give away two penalties at home and try and win a game of football. I am quite happy in the terms of how we played.”

Joao Pedro’s hat-trick sent Brighton through to the FA Cup fifth round with a 5-2 win at Sheffield United.

Pedro scored twice from the spot and crashed in an 18-yard drive after Facundo Buonanotte’s fine goal had given the Seagulls an early lead, with Danny Welbeck scoring at the death to seal an emphatic victory.

The Blades had battled back from 2-0 down to level thanks to goals from Gus Hamer and Will Osula but they lost to the better team at Bramall Lane.

Both sides were beaten semi-finalists in last year’s competition but it is Roberto De Zerbi’s side who are dreaming of another cup run while United can concentrate on trying to avoid Premier League relegation.

Brighton had already seen a goal chalked out for offside when they went ahead in sublime fashion in the 14th minute.

Buonanotte picked the ball up in the middle of the hosts’ half and jinked past a tackle before unleashing an unstoppable drive that found the top corner from 25 yards.

United would have been level four minutes later had it not been for some heroic defending from Jan Paul van Hecke and Igor Julio as they blocked shots from Osula and Hamer in quick succession.

That proved important as Brighton went 2-0 up just before the half-hour as a fine piece of skill from Pedro saw him burst into the area where he was clipped by Jayden Bogle.

The striker picked himself up and converted from the spot for his 16th goal of the season.

Sheffield United got one back in the 42nd minute when Osula broke clear down the right and his cross was palmed out by Brighton goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen straight into the path of Hamer, who fired home.

And in the eighth minute of time added on they got themselves level as Osula headed home Bogle’s cross from close range.

The drama continued in the second half as Brighton regained the lead seven minutes after the restart as Pedro scored his second penalty, stroking home after Bogle handled a cross.

Bogle tried to make amends at the other end as he was on the end of a lightning counter attack but saw his goalbound effort blocked by Pervis Estupinan.

Pedro claimed his first career hat-trick in the 67th minute, killing the tie with a low finish into the bottom corner.

United never threatened to get back into the game and Brighton made it five deep into added time when Welbeck fired under Blades debutant goalkeeper Ivo Grbic.

Roberto De Zerbi admitted depleted Brighton are dropping too many Premier League points following a frustrating goalless stalemate with Wolves.

Albion dominated possession at the Amex Stadium as they stretched their unbeaten home run to a club-record nine top-flight fixtures to climb to seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference.

But the Seagulls, who lacked a cutting edge on Monday evening, have drawn five of those fixtures and a league-high eight matches overall.

Brighton boss De Zerbi feels a lengthy injury list and European commitments are impacting his side’s league results.

“We have to understand the situation of injuries, we have to understand how much energy we spent in the Europa League, in FA Cup, we have to analyse if we will be lucky or unlucky,” said the Italian, whose side drew 0-0 with West Ham in their previous game.

“In the last two games in the Premier League we have been unlucky because two points after two games with good quality to win the game, we are losing too many points.

“We have been unlucky because five draws (at home), for example Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham and Wolverhampton, we deserved to win all of the games.

“We didn’t play the best game in my time (tonight) but we created a condition to win the game.

“Yes, we made some mistakes in the crucial part of the pitch and for it we didn’t win.”

Brighton controlled the play against Wolves but rarely threatened.

Facundo Buonanotte saw an early diving header cleared off the line by Tommy Doyle, while Wanderers captain Maximilian Kilman hit the frame of his own goal.

De Zerbi remains without the creative talents of Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Ansu Fati, Solly March and Julio Enciso but dismissed talk of recruiting reinforcements this month.

“No, transfer market is not my business,” he said.

“I have to be focused on my work and my work is to give organisation, to give a style, to try the condition to play well and make points.

“We are seventh place on the table and if you consider how many problems we had in the first part of the season we have to be proud because we are playing better than the situation we are enduring.”

Wolves were thrashed 6-0 in this fixture last season but could have snatched victory.

Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina each went close for the counter-attacking visitors.

In the absence of 10-goal top scorer Hwang Hee-chan, Neto played as a central striker on the south coast on his first start since October.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was impressed with the impact of the Portugal forward but hopes to bolster his striking options during the transfer window.

“We always had that threat,” said O’Neil. “Pedro was good, probably played a little bit longer than we would have liked ideally.

“I just felt there was still a goal in him so tried to push him a little bit more than was ideal but pleased that he got through it.

“Hopefully over the next few days we can do something in the window that can help us in that area.

“Until then we work hard to try and maximise what we have in the room and I felt we did that well today.

“The main thing was we looked like a team, we stuck together and when it got tough in certain situations we looked like we could cope and always had that threat.”