“He [Enciso] is the lad at the moment when you look at him in training and you are like, ‘Wow’.”

That was Adam Lallana on the Big Interview podcast in January, speaking about teammate Julio Enciso. At the time, the Paraguayan had only played 112 minutes in the Premier League for Brighton, and remained a consensus unknown to followers of English football.

But to those who had shared the pitch with him like Lallana, it was clearly only a matter of time before he began to make a mark.

By the end of May, the 19-year-old had scored against three of the recognised ‘big six’ in the Premier League’s recent history. He opened the scoring at home to Manchester City, equalised against Arsenal at the Emirates, and netted the winner away to Chelsea. Not bad to say he crammed all three into just 800 league minutes – or the equivalent of roughly nine full games.

Although his strikes from range caught the eye, Enciso’s arrival at the back end of the season wasn’t as heralded as perhaps it might have been. The sheer breadth of achievement and storylines surrounding Roberto De Zerbi’s revolution at Brighton meant it wasn’t easy for specific individuals to steal the limelight. And let’s face it, the 19-year-old isn’t the first – and won’t be the last – youngster to emerge from obscurity in Brighton’s current setup. Of the 10 teenagers who played 500+ minutes in the Premier League last season, 30% of them were Seagulls players (Enciso, Evan Ferguson and Facundo Buonanotte).

At the same time, Enciso’s impact after finally being granted a first Premier League start in April was unique in its own right. And it came right on the precipice of being just enough minutes played to draw semi-permanent conclusions, while also leaving plenty to the imagination for 2023-24 with a fuller campaign ahead of him.

The question isn’t whether Brighton’s investment will be worth it. That already looks beyond doubt. From here, it’s merely about how much Enciso’s value will surpass it by.

In his short Brighton career so far, Enciso has found minutes in the first team on the wing, as a second striker, and as a no. 9 on occasion. The beauty of his game is that his dribbling ability looks like that of a natural winger, yet the part of the pitch where he’s been most active is in a central attacking zone, playing between the opposition’s midfield and defensive lines.

The Brighton youngster averaged 3.7 successful take-ons per 90 in the Premier League last season, more than any other player for the Seagulls. Across the division as a whole for players with at least 500 minutes played, only Allan Saint-Maximin (4.9) and Noni Madueke (4.6) – two genuine wide players – averaged more than the Paraguayan.

Brighton’s attack was already lively before Enciso arrived in the team, but once he was there, he helped to up the ante even further. The Seagulls averaged 2.1 goals per 90 with Enciso on the pitch in the Premier League last term, which was up from 1.6 per 90 when he wasn’t playing. And further to his impact as a dribbler, the youngster has shown he knows how to channel it into meaningful moments in attack.

Along with his six direct goal involvements (four goals and two assists), which worked out at a very healthy goal or assist every 133 minutes on average, Enciso was one of the Premier League’s most active shot generators last term. He was directly involved in 5.7 shots per 90, which put him behind only Kevin De Bruyne (6.1) and Darwin Núñez (5.9) among players with at least 500 minutes played in the top-flight last season.

Even with the natural dip in production that will come with more minutes played next term, Enciso’s ‘fall back to earth’ should still see him figuring as an essential attacking piece for Brighton. His positional versatility will aid in that too, given the different ways in which Roberto De Zerbi can accommodate him – in what will be a tougher calendar in 2023-24.

The other influencing factor in Enciso’s rise is the rise of Brighton themselves. After Roberto De Zerbi took charge last September, only four teams across Europe’s big five leagues averaged more possession than the Seagulls (62%). Those four teams, you ask? That’d just be Barcelona, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Napoli – all of which are current reigning champions of their domestic leagues.

As his first pre-season in charge comes to an end, and with almost a year in the job now, exactly how far Brighton and De Zerbi can take this remains an open question. With a significant amount of time and experience dedicated towards refining his idea, the Seagulls’ method of playing could still yet be even more dominant. And more possession, more authority and more territory would only mean a better context for the likes of Enciso, who can bank on plenty of touches in the right areas of the pitch.

Although it has been Alexis Mac Allister and Moisés Caicedo for whom Brighton’s potential outgoings have centred this summer, there are already admiring glances being sent in Julio Enciso’s direction following his fine finish to 2022-23. The aforementioned Napoli – current reigning champions of Italy – are reported to be one of a number of clubs already monitoring him closely, and trying to position themselves for a future move.

He might have only played 800 Premier League minutes last term, but the quality of those minutes has put him firmly on the map. In what is a third consecutive summer to see Brighton make high-profit sales on a raft of young talent, you wouldn’t put it past Enciso to be in a similar position come this time next year.