Robert Sanchez was a part of the Carabao Cup night when Graham Potter gave youth a chance.

But not at the Amex playing for the Seagulls against Aston Villa.

While Albion went down 3-1 that night, Sanchez was at the Theatre of Dreams, as part of his loan stint with League One side Rochdale.

Like Potter, we watched the penalty shoot out which saw Manchester United squeeze through on TV before the Albion boss gave his press conference at the Amex.

Whether Sanchez gets chance to shine in front of his boss – while the fans watch on TV – versus Portsmouth this evening remains to be seen.

But Potter sees real potential in him and wants a close look before a next step is decided upon.

Sanchez was on loan at Forest Green before his stint at Rochdale.

Read more: Potter praises personality of his Albion squad

He turns 23 in November so, a bit like Christian Walton, the time could be coming for him to push on. Somewhere or other.

Walton is currently out injured and it appears highly unlikely Maty Ryan will feature tonight.

That could mean only a second senior Albion outing for Jason Steele.

Or Sanchez could be the man in the spotlight.

A confident character, both when between the sticks and with ball at his feet, there is no doubt he would welcome that chance.

Potter told The Argus: “At the moment he is training with us and I think it is important for us to get an extended look at him.

“He certainly has the potential to be a really, really good goalkeeper and we need to help him reach his potential.

“He has had a couple of good loan experiences so now we are just having a bit of time with him internally to make sure we have a proper assessment of where he is at and what he needs to do to go forward.

“Then we can make the decision based on what’s the right thing for Rob and the right thing for us.”

Sanchez had an unexpected chance at the Amex when Walton was injured during the friendly versus Chelsea.

Fans scattered behind that goal in the South Stand applauded a block he made at his near post from Olivier Giroud.

Reports – unconfirmed at this end – of Albion interest in Emiliano Martinez at Arsenal have added a little intrigue in the Albion goalkeeping situation.

Potter likes his team to play with 11 footballers rather than ten and a gloveman and Sanchez fits that bill with his footwork.

He honed those skills with a Rochdale side who love to play from the back.

At times, he learnt the hard way. His decision to take on Ivan Toney one-on-one in a game at Peterborough back-fired and there was a costly error in the FA Cup at Newcastle.

But he also earned high marks across the season.

There is no confirmation he plays this evening. No guarantee that he gets the chance to book another trip to Lancashire – to visit Preston in the third round.

We don’t know that he will return to the third round, the stage in which faced 31 goal attempts in 90 minutes when ‘Dale drew 1-1 at Old Trafford.

But Potter has confirmed there is at least a decision to be made, perhaps in conjunction with Walton’s recovery.

Meanwhile young Albion goalkeeper Roco Rees has returned to Worthing for a second loan stint.

Rees signed his first professional contract this summer and under-23s goalkeeper coach Shannon Ruth is looking forward to seeing him progress.

Ruth said: “He had a brief loan with Worthing last season and thoroughly enjoyed himself. “He will continue training with us during his time with Worthing, so we will be able to keep close tabs on how he gets on. We wish him the best of luck.”