Joao Pedro turned away with a smile and looked quite pleased with himself at the Amex last Sunday afternoon.

Not after his goal – a penalty passed calmly to one side of the net as the keeper plunged towards the other.

He is more Hemed or Colunga than Mac Allister or Lopez when it comes to spot-kick style.

Joao Pedro kept a very business-like face after that goal. It was a friendly, after all.

The smile and the spring in his step came after a brief session with reporters following the 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano.

No need to use any Portuguese here.

The answers were quite brief but he answered all the questions.

“My English was good!” he said to a member of club staff as he headed home.

It is all part of the settling in process and Albion fans will be excited by what they have seen so far.

It helps that he knows one of his fellow frontmen, Danny Welbeck, from their time at Watford.

It helps that he is friends with Pervis Estupinan, who was also on Watford’s books and with whom he can converse in Spanish.

It also helps that he is very at ease on the ball and that he has a degree of positional versatility.

The 21-year-old said: “I prefer to play as a striker, but midfield I enjoy also.

“At Watford I played in midfield, so for me I don't have difficulty playing the position.

“Yes, it's more easy (being versatile). At Brighton they make the game easy for us in front, to attack and create chances.

“I spoke to Pervis because he speaks Spanish so it's more easy for me.

“And he said yes, come to the club because it's a good club and I think it will be very good for you.

“When I knew about the interest from Brighton, I watched them more and learned about how they play to prepare for coming in the summer.”

Joao Pedro comes from what in Brazil is considered a medium-sized city, Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo state, although its population is about three times that of Brighton.

He went to Rio De Janeiro to train at the Xerem academy operated by Fluminense at the age of 11.

Brazilian TV reporter Fred Caldeira, who is now based in north-west England, told The Argus: “In 2015, his mother asked for a meeting with Xerem's manager Marcelo Teixeira to beg for help.

“The family didn't have money to buy food nor clothes.

“Back then, the club had an agreement to pay the equivalent of £48 per month to academy players, but increased João's pay to help the family.”

Joao Pedro was a winger at the time but switched to centre-forward in the under-17s.

His performances there earned him earned him a spot in the professional squad a few months later.

In his first start with the seniors, he scored a hat-trick and gave an assist in the 4-1 win against Atletico Nacional of Colombia.

By then he was 17 and a move to Watford was already in place.

The FotMob website and app made Joao Pedro the best player on either team in no fewer than eight Watford games last season at Championship level.

But a display at home to tomorrow’s opponents Luton Town was widely considered to be his finest hour-and-a-half.

Watford beat their arch rivals 4-0 with the Brazilian among the scorers.

Those who watched him at Vicarage Road loved his range of skills and note he has bulked up since he arrived looking very wiry and slight.

Andrew French of the Watford Observer said: “He can run with the ball, he has the skill to go past people, he tackles, he chases back, he leads.”

There was an observation he could try to do too much but that is not expected to be the case at Albion.

If there has been one slight reservation in pre-season, it has been that a couple of scoring chances in open play have got away from him.

But he is decent in the air and scored a couple of really good headers away at Wigan and Huddersfield last term.

French added: “I believe that with better players around him, and released from the feeling he has to do everything, he will only improve further.

“It was a big fee but even that number could turn out to be a snip if he fulfils the potential he undoubtedly has.”