When Marseille were reported to be keen on Simon Adingra this summer, the guidance I received was pretty clear.

He was beyond their means and Albion would not want to let him go.

It was easy to see why such speculation or reports should happen.

As others succumbed to injury or loss of form, Adingra was the most consistent provider of wing magic for Roberto De Zerbi.

In reality, instances of star players following their coach to his next club are far rarer than you might think.

That said, given his feats for club and country last season, it is easy to think Adingra might have seen himself as a starter for the Seagulls this term.

As Fabian Huerzeler puts it, he has slipped from the limelight and worked "in the shadow" although that shadow has been quite bright at times.

Albion have the joint best second-half goal difference in the Prem, at plus-three, and are 2-0 up from the 80th minute onwards, which reflects well on their subs and in-game changes.

Adingra ranked fourth among the Albion squad for Premier League minutes played last season - and first among their attacking threats.

Only Pascal Gross, Lewis Dunk and Jan Paul van Hecke had more league action.

But this term be has had to seek his chances where he can after the arrival of Yankuba Minteh and the return to fitness of Kaoru Mitoma.

It is possible Mjnteh’s tigerish work without the ball is giving him the edge over Adingra at the moment.

He certainly seized his chance in pre-season, to the point where there would have been surprise had he not started the season in the XI.

But a goal at Everton and precise match-winning cross against Manchester United, plus a pair of Carabao Cup strikes, are a decent return for Adingra so far.

He has scored coming in off both wings and, at this early stage, is Albion’s top goal-getter this season in league and cup.

In the 3-2 win over Wolves, it was a wonderful piece of skill by Adingra which opened the door for what turned out to be a crucial third goal.

Huerzeler made it clear from his press conference at the first friendly, against Kashima Antlers, that he does not like talking about individual players.

But he has had to soften on that given the amount of questions he gets about members of his team.

On Wednesday, he went to the next step and mentioned someone about whom he had not been asked. That someone was Adingra.

In an answer about something else, Huerzeler then said: "Simon made a great performance today.

"I think he is one player we have to mention because he has the quality to start in every game in the Premier League.

"But he has big competition in these winger positions.

"I am really happy how he performed today. He is very well integrated in the team.

"He does the work in the shadow when there is Premier League match time because he didn’t always start.

"But when we needed him he was always there and I am sure he will help us in the future."

Whether he did enough to start against Nottingham Forest is open to debate.

And is starting a game more important than finishing a game these days?

Quality on the bench is also crucial.

But his right-foot finish into the far corner was unerring and followed an even better strike by Carlos Baleba, who won the ball back himself.

Wolves replied on half-time through Gonçalo Guedes and what happened from then will not have helped the causes of some of those who were looking to push their argument for more Prem playing time.

Then Adingra worked his magic and Danny Welbeck and Ferdi Kadioglu were in to provide breathing space.

Of course, your bench SHOULD be important when you have the potential to change half your outfield line-up during a game.

That winning goal featured some important work by the subs.

Will Adingra be among those on the bench on Sunday?