Alireza Jahanbakhsh says that it feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulder after scoring his first two goals for Albion.

The Iranian opened his account for the club in the final game of 2019, scoring the opener in a 2-0 win over Bournemouth.

This was his first goal for the club, after joining 18 months prior to that from AZ Alkmaar after scoring 22 goals in 39 games for the Dutch side.

Jahanbakhsh then followed up with a stunning overhead kick to earn Albion a 1-1 draw in the first game of 2020 and he feels the pressure is off him now.

He said: “I think it is normal as a player with a big price tag on your shoulders, that people are expecting a lot from you.

“The first goal, if it came earlier, could have helped me to perform better because you feel that heaviness on your shoulder that people are expecting you to do something.

“Maybe I forced it a little bit, maybe I was just searching for it and they always say if you go for something it runs away from you.

“I have been patient enough to be there, to take my chance and then to be important for the team in the last two games.”

Prior to his two goals in the last two games many Albion fans would have expected him to leave on loan or permanently in January.

However, given his recent form is Jahanbakhsh still happy playing on the South Coast?

He said: “I have always felt good at the club, with the people around the club and with my teammates.

“I have settled into the city now and really like the people as they are very nice. Even the days that I didn’t perform that well, people have still been very nice to me.

“I really like it here and I have never talked about leaving the club. As a football player you always want to play and that is normal that is like any job that you do you want to be involved.

“That is why it has been very tough for me as I have always been involved and when that didn’t happen, something was going wrong for me and I felt like I lost myself for a while.

“I am happy here, but you never know what the future brings as a week before nobody would have known that I was going to score two goals, so we will see what happens.”

Jahanbakhsh and Albion kick off their FA Cup campaign this season with the visit of Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

Last season the Seagulls reached the semi-finals of the cup, losing to eventual winner Manchester City and Jahanbakhsh says he found out what the competition means to people in England.

He said: “Well back in the days I had been watching games in the FA Cup like the final, but last year I found out how important it is to football fans in England.

“We made it so far last season it was a great feeling to play at Wembley in front of our fans and it was just outstanding.

“It is very important for us, the club and obviously for the fans.

“Every game in the FA Cup is a tough one, so hopefully we can perform like we have been in our last two games and hopefully we can go as far as we did last year.”

But what does Jahanbakhsh know about Albion’s opponents, Sheffield Wednesday?

He said: “I don’t know much about them, but I heard they are a very good team.

“As a group they have got some good individual players, so it is going to be a difficult game.

“They are good side coming to the Amex to play against a Premier League club, so they will have a lot of motivation to face us so we have got to be ready for it.”

Jahanbakhsh’s overhead kick against Chelsea has brought comparison to other such goals and the one that is being mentioned a lot is Wayne Rooney’s winner for Manchester United against Manchester City in 2011.

However, as much as Jahanbakhsh admires Rooney’s goal he said the pair’s strikes are completely different.

He said: “I have done it before when I was playing in my second season in Holland, but it was a different angle and goal.

“To be honest the goal of Rooney I have looked at it 1,000 times and even when I watch the goal again it gives me a great feeling to watch and see such a goal.

“It was against City as well, so it was an important game.

“I think it was different style with stuff happening in the 16 and then that header from Dunky, whereas Rooney’s was directly from a cross.”

But which player did Jahanbakhsh’s look up to when he was growing up?

He said: “Well back in the days when I was very young it was Brazilian Ronaldo. “I had been watching him every single day, the goals he scored especially in 2002 he was such a great player and he always inspired me to be a good football player and perform well.

“I used to play as a No.9 back in the days in the national team and at youth level, so that was the reason I really liked him.”

Jahanbakhsh spoke about how he has his move in Holland to thank for his ability to speak English to such a high level.

He said:“We obviously learnt English at school, but a lot of kids didn’t care too much about learning the language they wanted to just pass the exams.

“It has always been important as ever since I was 14/15 I always had the goal to come out from the country and play in Europe.

“From 18 I took some English lessons and then when I got the offer from Holland I did three sessions a week with a tutor.

“At the time I could understand most of the things, but speaking was still very difficult for me.

“Since I went to Holland it made it much easier because they speak the language and you can practice it and learn stuff from them.”