Former Watford forward Will Buckley says joining Brighton and Hove Albion was “an easy decision in the end.”

Buckley joined Brighton on Monday in a £1m move and although he says it was difficult to leave Watford, he claimed the lure of moving to Albion, and playing at their new stadium, made it an easy decision in the end.

Buckley told the Brighton website: "It was a difficult move in the respect that Watford is an established Championship club and I enjoyed my time there, but as soon as I knew Brighton were interested, with the new ground, I knew I wanted to come.

"The move has been talked about for a few weeks now and I've just been eager to get it done. It's a big club and I'm looking forward to the challenge here.

"I spoke to the manager and everything seems like it's up and coming here so it was an easy decision in the end.

"I've learnt what the Championship is all about from my time at Watford and I'm confident I can become a good player at this level as a Brighton player."

Buckley, who made 43 appearances for Watford in all competitions, scoring four goals, was outstanding over the Christmas period but often had little impact on games.

The 22-year-old is hoping he will become more consistent at Brighton.

He said: "I'm a player who likes to run at defenders and go forward when I've got the ball. Hopefully I'll excite the fans and do consistently what I showed glimpses of last season.

"Brighton played really well against Watford when we played in the FA Cup earlier in the year and hopefully that's the way we'll continue to play now I've joined. It's a good footballing side and a good team to watch.

"Now everything is completed I'm looking forward to meeting my new team mates and from now on everything gets exciting. I want to get pre-season started, then it's all about getting back to business in the Championship.

"I've driven past the stadium and it looks amazing, so I can't wait to get the first game in there and hopefully we'll make it a fortress from then on."