The Art of Carlos Baleba
- How was he discovered by Brighton?
- What does he excel in?
- How high is his ceiling?
- Where is his perfect next move?
Carlos Noom Quomah Baleba was born in Douala, Cameroon, in 2004. Growing up in a footballing environment, he thrived at youth level in his academy in Cameroon, originally playing as a winger. His father was also a professional, playing in South Africa and his native country Cameroon.
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In 2022, Carlos joined French side Lille. From there he would thrive, earning himself a move to Brighton & Hove Albion in August of 2023. Brighton had been tracking the Cameroon wonderkid since his move to Lille, due to his outstanding technical ability and physical presence. He ranked highly on Tony Bloom’s data and analytic algorithms, hence why Baleba had only played 21 professional games prior to his big money move to the Premier League.
Roberto De Zerbi who was Brighton manager at the time, said “Baleba can be the future of Brighton”- he was absolutely spot on. However, in his first season, Baleba was limited to bench cameos, as De Zerbi mentioned he wasn’t ready to be starting games in the Premier League. But even from his bench cameos, you could tell he was going to be a superb player in seasons to come.
Roberto De Zerbi leaving Brighton was in many ways a blessing in disguise for Baleba, as De Zerbi had strict principles, and with Baleba’s skillset, you could see this was limiting him a lot. De Zerbi wanted midfielders such as Billy Gilmour and Pascal Groß — who started together under De Zerbi for the majority of the 23/24 season — quick-minded, pass-and-move players.
Baleba is more of a dictating midfielder- he can take any game by the scruff of the neck and play it at his pace. A good example of this is Brighton’s win over Manchester City, back in November. Brighton started with a midfield of Yasin Ayari and Jack Hinshelwood, with Baleba coming on at half time and controlling the game, leading Brighton’s spectacular turn around. Throwing around Erling Haaland, bullying Kevin De Bruyne and Mateo Kovačić had nightmares of him for weeks after.
This game in particular, showed off Baleba’s key strengths- physical dominance, elite line-breaking with progressive carries and line-breaking passes (the latter leading to Brighton’s second), and incredible game-reading and intelligence. Fabian Hürzeler left him on his own in midfield, giving him the freedom to dictate- something that would never cross De Zerbi’s mind- whilst pushing his midfield partner Matt O’Riley into the right half-space, where he scored Brighton’s winning goal.
Whilst he has his many strengths, Baleba, like every player, has flaws. From personal experience, the way he over commits into tackles leaves him vulnerable to being caught out of possession- and in a team that wants to win the ball so high up the pitch, this can leave Brighton exposed.
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However, he ranks inside the top 3% for blocks (2.10 per 90 mins) and the top 7% (1.67 per 90) for interceptions. Baleba also has played the most accurate forward passes for a midfielder in the Premier League this season (88.41%). As I said, an ELITE line breaker.
Carlos Baleba is very mature for his age, he has improved leaps and bounds since his time under De Zerbi. After all, he had the almost impossible task of replacing Moisés Caicedo- after playing just 21 professional games! As a Brighton fan, I believe he has a higher ceiling than Caicedo. In possession, he offers more- being a better ball carrier and technician, whilst also offering the physical dominance of Caicedo.
He will cost any team upwards of £70 million given the fact that his current contract expires in the summer of 2028 and his value is skyrocketing. Brighton have every right to ask for a premium. Boasting the elegance of Paul Pogba and the dominance of Yaya Touré, Carlos Baleba WILL be a world class player. For this reason, I see a move to Liverpool within the next season or two. Having a pivot of Alexis Mac Allister and Carlos Baleba ripping teams to shreds around Europe will bring tears to Brighton fans.
By: Matthew Avery / @mjavery11
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Mike Hewitt / Getty Images