The 'new Lamine Yamal' appears to have arrived in the Premier League

Yohanna is used to taking big steps at a young age. His route to the Premier League has demanded huge sacrifices. He grew up in Bauchi, Nigeria, and took the first major step towards his dream of becoming a professional footballer when he left the family home 'between the ages of 12 and 13' to join Ikon Allah Football Academy.

''It is very far from where my family live, so it was very hard for me'', Yohanna told Aftonbladet. ''At first I cried a lot because I missed everyone.''

With encouragement from his father, who told him, ''OK, let's try it'', Yohanna threw himself fully into football. His natural talent stood out early, even if he was sometimes a little too keen.

''At the time we were allowed to play with two touches, but I often forgot that and dribbled instead. Then the coach said I had to beat two players first before I was allowed to pass the ball!'' He brought that dribbling instinct with him to Sweden when he signed for AIK in 2025.

Moving to northern Europe meant adapting to new tactical demands and a higher intensity, but he is determined to go far in football: ''Football is everything to me. There is no other alternative; there is only football.''

AIK spotted him during a scouting trip to Africa in early 2025 and brought him to Sweden, where he spent a month with the Under-19s before signing his first professional contract with the club.

Yohanna did not need long to make his mark in Swedish football. In just 18 matches in all competitions, he scored five goals and provided four assists for AIK.

Headlines followed in April during the Allsvenskan match against Halmstad, when he scored the late winner in the 83rd minute. After hitting the post with a gilt-edged chance in the first half, Yohanna made amends by beating two defenders and drilling the ball past the goalkeeper.

"I always want to go forward as soon as I get the ball," said Yohanna after his eye-catching display. "I know I am good in one-on-one situations."

That display made a huge impression on his own team-mates. AIK winger Taha Ayari summed it up neatly: "He is just like Lamine Yamal, wow! Sometimes I genuinely do not know what he is going to do, when he is running back and forth and doing all sorts. Then I just drop back and let him do his thing."

Even the experienced goalkeeper Kristoffer Nordfeldt agreed with the remark that you should "just let him do his thing" and added: "Everyone can see that he has enormous X-factor."

Having joined AIK midway through the season last July, Yohanna was eased into the starting XI. He started only three of his six league matches, and the talented youngster was used as a left winger and left-back.

"I had to adapt to the intensity of the game. The fact I was allowed to play in other positions was difficult, but I think that as a footballer you cannot say that you should only play in a certain position. So I stayed calm. I knew my time would come as long as I kept working hard."

This season he had become a regular in the starting XI and had set his sights on the league's top scorer title before leaving for Brighton seven weeks after the start of the season.

Yohanna is a left-footed winger who usually operates on the right in a 4-3-3. Full-backs hate facing him. His explosive pace and tight close control make him hard to stop one-on-one, and he has also shown he can beat two players at once.

"He possesses an impressive arsenal of strengths, including his dribbling ability, technique in the penalty area, outstanding one-on-one ability and a cultured left foot," Fredrik Wisur Hansen, scouting manager at AIK, told Expressen.

Cutting inside on to his stronger left foot, he strikes the ball sharply and spots clever passes into the penalty area.

Inside the box, Yohanna also uses his height well, drifting towards the back post whenever AIK attacked down the opposite flank. He showed his heading ability with a crucial headed goal in the league draw against Elfsborg, then scored another in the quarter-final defeat in the Svenska Cupen.

His spatial awareness also allows him to drift inside and operate effectively as an attacking midfielder.

Within less than a year, Yohanna had made such an impression in Swedish football that he caught the eye of other Premier League clubs. Newcastle United are reported to have made a bid this year and Chelsea were also said to be keen on signing him, before The Seagulls brought him in for a Swedish record fee on a five-year contract.

"I am looking forward to working with Zadok," said Brighton manager Fabian Hürzeler. "I have seen his matches and his qualities. He is a player who can make the difference in the final third."

"Zadok is still young and will need time to adapt to the club and the Premier League, but he is an exciting player to watch and he brings the kind of creativity that we know our fans will enjoy. Zadok is dynamic, has pace and likes to take on opponents. His qualities and skills will be a real asset to our attack," said the delighted coach from Germany.

Despite his lightning-fast rise, Yohanna is still young and unproven at the highest level. He still has areas to develop as he adapts to the intensity of the Premier League. He remains inexperienced too, with only 13 league appearances in Sweden. The forward is yet to make his debut for Nigeria because AIK blocked him from joining the squad for the Unity Cup in London in May.

He will need to sharpen his decision-making in the final third if he is to thrive in the English top flight. Yohanna simply will not get as much time on the ball as he did in Sweden and will pay for every mistake and every heavy touch.

Without the ball, his defensive discipline and positioning will also come under scrutiny. Still, his performances in Sweden suggest he fits the profile for Brighton's high-pressing system.

For Yohanna, joining Brighton was an easy decision. "Development, the way they develop players," he said in his first interview with the club channel. "I know the teams who use young players, and Brighton are one of them. Their style of play suits me very well."

The 19-year-old came off the bench in Brighton's recent 3-0 friendly win over AS Roma and was overcome with emotion when he finally signed his contract. "I’m really very happy, because I know where I come from. I want to make my family proud, and I’ve done that."

Off the pitch, he is very shy. He admitted he gets timid in a crowd on his own and needed a team-mate to go with him to a shopping centre in Sweden. On it, he is fearless.

"I want to play in the biggest leagues and in the Champions League," he said ambitiously.

Brighton look like one of the best springboards for young talent in Europe and they have European ambitions of their own. He may not have to wait long to realise that dream.