Premier League 'big six' club in need of midfield reinforcements? Look no further than Brighton and Hove Albion!
The Seagulls' exceptional, no-stone-unturned recruitment has long been a difference-maker for them in England's top flight.
Tottenham parted with £30 million to sign Yves Bissouma in summer 2022. Brighton also lost head coach Graham Potter to Chelsea that year, but they powered on to new heights under Roberto De Zerbi.
Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister's wonderful performances were the spark to Brighton's continued rise. Liverpool came calling for Argentine World Cup winner Mac Allister, paying an initial £35 million for his services in June 2023, while Caicedo joined Chelsea for a gargantuan £115 million deal two months later.
Two weeks after Caicedo's switch to Stamford Bridge, Albion completed the unheralded £23.2 million signing of Carlos Baleba from Lille. He might just be the best of the bunch and could soon have a price tag to match.
MORE: How can Man United afford Carlos Baleba? Transfer spending explained amid PSR worries
How good is Carlos Baleba?
Baleba is considered one of the brightest talents not just in the Premier League but European football as a whole. It's no surprise, then, that as they power on with a summer rebuild under Ruben Amorim, Manchester United have designs on the player, although it is likely to take a fee in the region of Chelsea's outlay for Caicedo to get the deal done.
On August 6, The Athletic's David Ornstein reported United had made contact with Brighton via intermediaries to explore the possibility of signing the 21-year-old.
United's outlay in excess of £200m to bring in Matias Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko as attacking reinforcements over the summer necessitated an exit for wantaway stars Alejandro Garnacho and Jadon Sancho to make the move for Baleba happen, while Marcus Rashford joined Barcelona on loan.
Manuel Ugarte, Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro are United's current central midfield options, while Bruno Fernandes has been deployed deeper in Amorim's preferred 3-4-2-1 setup after the arrivals of Cunha and Mbeumo.
Carlos Baleba best position
Baleba is an all-action, ball-winning central midfielder and is being targeted by United for this purpose.
On occasion, he has played at centre-back and his ball-carrying ability would feasibly make him a candidate to feature as an alternative in Amorim's back three.
Carlos Baleba
Carlos Baleba contract
Brighton are in a strong position in the Carlos Baleba negotiations. The 21-year-old has three years remaining on his contract, which runs until June 2028, plus an option for a further year.
Negotiations for a player with more than two years on their current deal give the player's current club lots of leverage, as they are in a position to remain steadfast and keep the player should their valuation not be met.
According to Capology, Baleba is on a basic wage of £12,500 per week.
Carlos Baleba Brighton stats
Baleba has made 77 appearances across all competitions for Brighton coming into the 2025/26 season, scoring four goals.
However, it is statistics that measure breaking up opposition play and driving his own team forward where he excels.
The Opta rankings collated below are drawn from all midfielders who played in the Premier League in 2024/25, while the FBRef percentile rankings are amongst all Premier League midfielders across the season.
Carlos Beleba 2024/25 Premier League stats
Number Opta Rank Percentile
Interceptions 46 5th 91st
Recoveries 197 5th 91st
Tackles 79 =18th 70th
Tackles won 46 17th 68th
Total carries 415 18th 58th
Progressive carries 200 18th 58th
Progressive carries +10 87 20th —