Robert Sanchez has come a long way since his Premier League debut.

Further and more quickly that we probably even realised from outside, as it turns out.

The young Albion goalkeeper starts as first choice for this campaiagn after a stunning season.

After what seemed an initial one-off outing at Tottenham, he came back into the side at Fulham leading up to Christmas.

That led to a busy summer which saw him called into the Spain squad for Euro 2020.

Of course he has progressed.

But he could see his own strides very quickly.

Sanchez said: “I learnt I can play much more calm and making better decisions than I thought.

“I learnt that from playing games.

“Watching my first games against Tottenham, against Fulham, and then watching games like Liverpool away and then the final ones, I can see a lot of progress on decision-making, on timing, when to play short and when to play long.

“Playing at the highest level, you have to get up to speed quite quick.

“It has been quite a big difference in six months.”

Sanchez remained on the bench during the Euros but was an enthusiastic member of the Spain squad.

He impressed team-mates, coaching staff and travelling media and was dubbed Pantera – or Panther.

He said: “ It was an unbelievable experience.

“I made new friends, learnt a lot and had the experience of getting to the semi-finals.

“Not many people can say they have got there.

“Even though I didn’t get minutes, supporting from the bench, it was unbelievable.

“We finished the season and had around six days off before I had to go into the camp.

“I was there for close to 40 days and, because of quarantine, I had to come back straight away and had a week-and-a-half off.”

A short break but Sanchez said: “It’s long enough.

“I’ve been moving into my new place and I’ve been busy but I am ready to start a new season.”

Sanchez believes the relationship with his defenders is an area in which he progressed.

He said: “I don’t really concentrate on the atmosphere.

“I am really focused on what I do.

“People who know me know if I play Manchester City away, I play the same way as if I play a friendly game here against the 23s.

“Most games I finish with a headache!

“It’s concentrating, talking to your back four, managing the team.

“Talking all the time, make sure you keep yourself busy.

“In the first game I maybe didn’t know when to say something. I didn’t know how to say it.

“Now, with time, we know each other really well.

“We are a good bunch and we know how to deal with situations.”

Now to kick on. It was after the 1-1 draw at Burnley last season that head coach Graham Potter described Sanchez as “a monster” in goal.

The new campaign starts back up there tomorrow.

Sanchez said: “I would be over the moon if I do the same as I have done this half a season.

GRAHAM POTTER'S BRIGHTON V BURNLEY PRESS CONFERENCE

“Obviously I always want to improve.

“But if I do the same, which is being consistent, doing good performances - I’m not going to say unbelievable, I’m going to say good after good after good - keeping a high number of clean sheets, making a high level of good actions, I will be really happy.”