There was once a time when Amario Cozier-Duberry was trying his best to keep his prodigious footballing talent on the down-low. But the word about Brighton's turbo-footed attacker is now well and truly out.

Cozier-Duberry, 19, is the latest bright young thing strutting his stuff in the EFL after linking up with Bolton Wanderers on loan. The former Arsenal academy talent has lit up League One with his dazzling play and already has a goal reel that would make a teenage Cristiano Ronaldo blush.

The talented teenager has seven goals and seven assists to his name already this term and his stellar performances in October were duly rewarded with the EFL's Player of the Month award AND the equivalent Young Player gong.

But Cozier-Duberry initially wanted to keep it quiet when he was snapped up by Arsenal as a 14-year-old.

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"I would have only been in Year 9 or 10," Cozier-Duberry tells Mirror Football. "I kept it quite low key. When I went into school not many people knew at all."

Even back then, Cozier-Duberry had a penchant for the spectacular after honing his skills in a Sunday League team. He grew up playing with his mates rather than entering the academy system until Arsenal came calling in his teenage years.

His stunning goal to clinch all three points against Cardiff City last month was textbook. Every defender in League One will know now Cozier-Duberry only has designs on cutting in on his left foot to shoot. Stopping him doing it is a different matter, though.

Asked about his highlight reel, he adds: "Cutting inside on my left foot and finishing on my left foot is something I've always worked on. The more you get to practice in more realistic situations like in training the better it gets.

"To then see that then come off in games is really good."

Cozier-Duberry was previously likened to Bukayo Saka by Jack Wilshere and was extremely highly thought of by the Gunners, who fought tooth and nail to keep him. Ironically, Saka's presence on the right of Arsenal's attack probably played a part in his decision to leave his boyhood club with Brighton winning the scramble for his services.

"I think it was more of a pathway thing for me," Cozier-Duberry confirms while discussing the decision. "Brighton's history is amazing with a lot of young players getting chances.

"I felt at the time that it made sense to go to Brighton, get experience on loan and then come back and hopefully see if the pathway is there for me."

One thing that hasn't changed since Cozier-Duberry swapped Arsenal for Brighton back in the summer of 2024 is the swathe of suitors keeping a close eye on him.

Many a club in Leagues One and Two have been burned by the sudden mid-season recall of their star loanees in recent seasons. Speculation over a repeat in Cozier-Duberry's case has been rife. But unfortunately for League One full-backs, not only are Brighton more than happy with how things are going for the winger up north, Cozier-Duberry is also loving life at Bolton and wants to mark his time there by winning something, complicating any potential switch.

"I'm really enjoying it here," he says, comparing the experience to a spell he had in the Championship with Blackburn Rovers last year. "It was a difficult situation at Blackburn because I was a bit in and out of the team a bit. I just took [that spell] as a learning curve.

"I gained so much experience from being in and around the men's department for my first time, seeing how fast-paced and how relentless the Championship is. It's quite similar in League One as well.

"It would be amazing to achieve something here this season. I think it's definitely possible.

"It would be good for me, good for the team and good for Bolton as a whole. I think it's something the club deserves."

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