Lea Le Garrec would love her Albion form to help her back into the French national squad.

It is not her main aim but it is there in the back of her mind.

But she gets a daily reminder of life as an international footballer as she goes about her work with the Seagulls.

Le Garrec says the set-up and facilities she currently enjoys are on a par with what she experienced with France.

And that is without the major development going on at the club’s training complex in Lancing to give the women and girls their own day-to-day base.

It is two years now since Le Garrec was with Les Bleues.

But a new adventure in the Barclays FA WSL has broadened horizons and taken her to a new fanbase.

Le Garrec has been playing some nice passes, getting into spaces and going close to scoring from outside the box for weeks now.

The breakthrough moment came on the biggest Albion stage – the Amex – with an unerring right-foot finish from outside the box against Birmingham City.

An overnight sensation. But, like most overnight sensations, one with weeks and years of hard work in the background.

Le Garrec, 26, signed ahead of this season after leaving her long-time French club Guingamp.

She told The Argus: “I wanted to make life hard for myself.

“I wanted to play in a new league because I had played for a long time in France.

“I wanted an experience abroad, I wanted to learn English.

“Brighton were interested. In terms of the town, it’s really magnificent.

“And the infrastructure at the club here is top.

“It’s really professional and that is what I was looking for.

“At Guingamp it was pro but not so much.

“I see the difference here every day. It feels like when I was playing for the French national team because it is so professional and that is what I was searching for.”

Le Garrec played 28 times for France under-19s and 12 games for the under-23s.

It is two years now since she suddenly gained all four of her senior caps to date in quick succession.

They included a role as sub in a 1-0 win over an England side which included Lucy Bronze, Steph Houghton, Jordan Nobbs, Karen Carney and Toni Duggan.

Asked about hopes of a return to French colours, she said: “Of course I still have that thought somewhere in a corner of my mind.

“I work every day and, if one day they need me and they call me, I will be happy.

“If they don’t call, it’s not serious.

“I’ll still be here helping my club, being professional and making sure the club stay in the WSL.”

That process is really up and running now thanks to the win over Birmingham, although the seeds were possibly sewn in the previous fixture, when they drew 0-0 with Arsenal in the Conti Cup.

Le Garrec put away the final penalty in a shootout which secured the Seagulls a second point and kept their hopes of qualification from their group alive going into tomorrow’s fixture at London Bees.

She said: “It really helped everyone to win a game, even though it was on penalties “That did our morale a lot of good.

“When you lose again and you go into the next week, you get that same old feeling.

“You feel that pressure of results once again.

“Now I hope we are going into a good dynamic for this week.

“That is a change for us as well, playing on Wednesday and then Sunday (at Manchester United).”

Le Garrec’s previous clubs include St Malo, on the other side of the Channel.

A glace through her social media accounts suggest a love of the coast and her new home city, as well as the occasional trip to London.

She said: “I love Brighton, it is really pretty.

“I don’t go to London so much because I prefer to go with a friend or my boyfriend and he isn’t often here.

“I stay around Brighton. I’ve had friends over this week to visit Brighton.”

Brighton is getting to know her now.

And the name of her previous club – En Avant Guingamp – might also ring a few bells.

That was where Anthony Knockaert, another French talent who has thrilled Seagulls fans, made his professional debut.

Le Garrec said: “He was at Guingamp and I was there for a few years so I know of him but he is not someone I actually know. He left Guingamp early.”