Brighton defender Veltman: We can beat Chelsea | OneFootball

Brighton defender Joel Veltman has enjoyed his first season in England.

Veltman joined in the summer from Ajax.

“A lot of my teammates at Ajax asked me in the beginning 'why did we only sell you for €1 million?'," he recalls. “But I was telling them that I had planned to leave for a couple of years.

“I would have left sooner, but I was injured one year and then Matthijs de Ligt went to Juventus so I stayed. Ajax knew I wanted to try something different and they put the release clause in my last contract."

The 29-year-old has got exactly what he asked for on the south coast.

“I really like fighting for the points in the Premier League, I left Ajax because I wanted a fresh experience and coming to the Premier League I have got that. the levels are so high in every game.

“Ajax are competing for the title every year in Holland, whereas at Brighton we know realistically that we're not at that level yet. But we do go into every game with the mentality to win all three points, in Holland it is easier to do that than it is in England."

On the chances of beating Chelsea tonight, Veltman was bullish.

He told the club's website: “We can do it. If we weren't creating chances and couldn't get out of our own box, I would be worried. But we create chances, we have better games than the opponent, we will get the points we need. We will be safe at the end of the season, for sure."