Brighton’s Carlos Baleba has finally spoken out about the speculation that surrounded him this summer following numerous links to Manchester United.
The 21-year-old midfielder started the season in poor form, only playing one full 90 so far and being substituted off at halftime on four occasions. However, over the last few weeks, he has bounced back from those underwhelming performances and started to show the quality he displayed last season.
Seagulls’ manager Fabian Hurzeler will be pleased to see the Cameroonian nearly back to his best after he continued to play him through the tough period and urged him back to form. But the German boss may always feel slightly frustrated as Baleba is now heading to the Africa Cup of Nations for the rest of this month and next month, making him potentially unavailable until the end of January.
Asked about whether he felt that it was transfer links which played a role in his downturn of form, Baleba was firm in his response, telling Sky Sports: “I don’t think it affected me negatively, but I had a lot of pressure on me. When I started this season, I wanted to show the same performances as last season.
“Every day I try to work hard and get back to my level. Did I put too much pressure on myself? Yes, I think so, but I think it’s good. It’s good for me, because now I have to get through this slightly stressful period, get back on the horse and continue working hard.”
Despite his difficult end to 2025, the former Lille youngster is still expected to be the recipient of plenty of interest next summer from elite clubs such as Bayern Munich and, once again, United, with the Albion reportedly already eyeing potential replacements in Lyon’s Tyler Morton, Aston Villa’s Lamare Bogarde, Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney, and Ferencvaros’ Alex Toth.