England U20s keeper Christian Walton's night to remember

Brighton & Hove Albion manager Sami Hyypia praised England U20s goalkeeper Christian Walton after he made his professional debut against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.

The 18-year-old played the full 90 minutes during the Seagulls' 2-0 Capital One Cup fourth round defeat at White Hart Lane, gaining his first start after David Stockdale was ruled out through injury.

And during a night where Walton faced 19 shots on goal from an attacking Spurs team, Hyypia thought his goalkeeper did exceptionally well.

“I think Chris will remember this night for the rest of his life,” said Hyypia. "David Stockdale had a little problem with his finger and Chris knew this morning that he was going to play.

“It’s not an easy place to play your first game but he did very, very well when we needed him. He catched the ball surely and he did his job very well.

“He is a young goalkeeper with the England Under-20s so I think he will benefit from this performance.”

This season is turning out to be something of a breakthrough year for Walton, who made his debut for the England Under-20s back in September against Romania.

Walton will be hoping to be selected for Aidy Boothroyd's Young Lions squad to face Canada at AFC Bournemouth on Wednesday 12 November.

And he was chosen to start Wednesday’s cup game at White Hart Lane ahead of Casper Ankergen, a player 16 years his senior and with over 300 professional appearances.

When queried on his selection of Walton ahead of the experienced Dane, Hyypia responded that it was no more than the English youngster deserved.

“He wouldn’t have played if I didn’t have faith in him,” Hyypia added.

“He has improved a lot in the last few months and hopefully we can keep working hard to improve him even more.”

Watch Walton and his England Under-20s team-mates in action against Canada at AFC Bouremouth's Goldsands Stadium. Tickets cost just £3 for adults and £1 for concessions, and can be purchased here.