Brighton and England defender watches as youth team are beaten at Steyning - but he paid for his own ticket to support club

Dunk, 31, watched on at The Shooting Field as Albion’s under 21s were beaten 2-1 by Steyning in the Sussex Senior Cup.

The Barrowmen posted on X (formerly Twitter): “Not the best photo but great to see Lewis Dunk at The Shooting Field tonight.

"He was fantastic and very patient with our young players and was very good with the gatemen too.”

A supporter of the club, named @VolgaBoatPerson on X, added some further context to the story.

He wrote: “Lewis was on the guest list and could have walked straight in, but he insisted on paying for his ticket and putting money into the club.”

Dunk is the longest-serving Brighton player, having graduated from the academy and joining the club in 2003.

The club captain has made over 400 appearances for the Seagulls since his first-team debut in the penultimate game of the 2009/10 season at MK Dons.

Lewis went onto captain Albion to their best ever finish in the top-flight, finishing ninth in the 2021/22 season, before leading the club to a sixth place finish the following campaign, as the Sussex club qualified for European competition for the first time in their history.

Dunk was recalled to the England squad this year and was named man-of-the-match against Australia. He had to pull out of the upcoming Euro 2024 qualifiers due to an injury sustained in the win at Ajax.