Albion 3 Newcastle 1

So now we can enjoy the football without the distraction of the Premier League transfer window.

This Evan Ferguson-powered defeat of Newcastle wasn’t a bad way to start.

You can take it as a big compliment to a hugely watchable Albion team or you can find it rather irritating.

Or you can see it both ways.

But the widespread tendency to speculate over which big club will snap up any player (or head coach) who is performing well for the Seagulls is starting to wear thin.

Ferguson took the acclaim this time with his hat-trick to destroy a brittle Toon back line.

His treble came a day too late for Gary Lineker to mention him in relation to Spurs on this occasion.

But those links will come again if keeps doing what he is doing.

A national radio reporter next to me wanted to know why no one has yet snapped up Kaoru Mitoma as, even below his best, he had a huge part in two goals.

Contacts in Ecuador ask which teams are interested in Pervis Estupinan.

Roberto De Zerbi has been described in some quarters as the future Manchester City manager.

Who knows? If Billy Gilmour keeps playing like this, maybe Chelsea will discover him. Again.

And, of course, it is the way of the footballing world.

De Zerbi himself was accepting of that in his post-match press conference.

Some regeneration can be positive, giving space for new shoots which are even greener than those which went before.

The departures of some players and coaches have actually led to Albion becoming stronger, not weaker.

But that is down to their own good work. It does not automatically happen.

Still, it is a nice thought that many transfer windows are now closed and we can watch this revised Albion squad grow and improve together.

And that’s the story. What is happening here, not where one or two individuals might end up.

De Zerbi was able to enjoy the joke about Ferguson timing his hat-trick just right - the day after the transfer window closed.

“Yes,” he said with a smile when that was pointed out. “Good news! But it’s normal for Brighton to sell their players.

“The most important thing is to find the replacement. This is the right work we have to do.”

And to develop those players with the patience it seems others with greater reputations and spending power do not possess.

Asked about Ferguson, De Zerbi said: “He knows the way to score but I love to play with the ball for 90 minutes. We have been working on this part.

“I think I am happy because we have got a lot of young players who are big, big talents.

“(Facundo) Buonanotte, (Julio) Enciso - and Mitoma is older but is still a very big talent. Now (Carlos) Baleba and Ansu Fati.

“Okay, Ansu Fati is on loan but for me nothing changed. I work in the same way with the same patience and the same attitude.”

Our reliable information from very early this summer was that, while Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo were always likely to leave, Ferguson and Enciso were two players who were going nowhere.

So let’s enjoy them all in their current surroundings.

De Zerbi has put together a captivating mix of youth and experience.

We all think we know what the age range is for a footballer to be in his prime.

Well, of the 16 players used on Saturday, only four were aged between 23 and 31.

Jan Paul van Hecke, a young defender making rapid progress, denied Alexander Isak just seconds into Toon’s bright start.

Then, as Albion found their feet, Ferguson pounced after Nick Pope failed to hold Gilmour’s thunderous shot amid general chaos in and around the Newcastle penalty area.

Toon spurned good chances after both that goal and Ferguson’s second, adroitly curled home from outside the box as defenders backed off.

The Amex had been a vibrant cacophony of noise from the moment new signings Ansu and Baleba were introduced to the crowd ahead of kick-off.

It was bouncing as Ferguson completed his treble with a curler which deflected off Fabian Schar.

Callum Wilson’s well taken reply in stoppage time was disappointing for Albion but they would have happily taken 3-1 versus a Newcastle side with talented attacking players before kick-off.

Albion’s squad isn’t an audition room for the super powers’ benefit.

Okay - maybe it is, just a bit.

But the cast is assembled right here for the exciting months ahead.

Next at the Amex? AEK Athens.

Albion: Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Estupinan; Gross (Adingra 89), Gilmour (Dahoud 77); March (Lallana 81), Joao Pedro (Lamptey), Mitoma; Ferguson (Milner 81). Subs: Steele, Webster, Igor Julio, Buonanotte.

Goals: Ferguson 27, 65, 70.

Yellow card: Lamptey 83 (foul), Milner 86 (foul), Dahoud 90+5 (dissent), Lallana 90+8 (foul).

Newcastle: Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Targett (Lascelles 74); Tonali (Longstaff 58), Guimaraes, Joelinton (Wilson 58); Almiron (Anderson 58), Isak (Barnes 74), Gordon. Subs: Dubravka, Murphy, Livramento, Hall.

Goal: Wilson 90+2.

Yellow card: Gordon 23 (foul), Schar 43 (foul), Targett 68 (delaying free-kick), Burn 76 (foul).

Referee: Stuart Attwell.

Minimum stoppage time indicated: 2+7.