Gus Poyet believes Brighton midfielder Liam Bridcutt can make it at the very top

Liam Bridcutt (left): Praised by Brighton boss Poyet

Brighton manager Gus Poyet believes midfielder Liam Bridcutt is good enough to play at the very top level.

Poyet heaped praise on the player following Saturday's 2-0 FA Cup victory over Newcastle, and he reckons Bridcutt would hold his own at Real Madrid if they were interested in buying the 23-year-old.

"Yes I am worried by Liam's performance. Other clubs can ask about him because it's part of the game," said Poyet.

"If I was coach of Real I would take him because he deserves to go to the highest level. As a holding midfielder, there is no better player in the division. So he is quite expensive.

"The best thing about Liam is that he understands me to an incredible level. The way he understands what I want from him is spectacular."

However, Poyet has stressed he is not interested in offloading his best players, with Brighton close to the Championship play-off places.

"Now that we are at the same level as the rest of the teams that everyone is talking about, our players are expensive," he added.

"I don't put prices on them but we're not a selling team anymore."