Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Tottenham are all closely monitoring Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba.
According to a report from Graeme Bailey on TBR Football, Carlos Baleba’s impressive rise at Brighton & Hove Albion has not gone unnoticed. Multiple top clubs from across Europe are keeping a close eye on him and Arsenal, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Tottenham are the Premier League clubs who have shown interest in the young defensive midfielder.
Baleba came up the ranks at LOSC Lille. After impressing in his debut season at the French club, Brighton forked out £23 million to acquire his services in the summer of 2023. The 20-year-old hardly took any time to settle into life in the English top flight.
He was seen as a successor to Moises Caicedo, who had joined Chelsea in a big-money move. While the Cameroonian international is in the early phase of his career, he has already established himself as a regular at Brighton, and his performances have not gone unnoticed.
So far, he has featured in 46 matches for them. In the ongoing season, he has started eight out of his nine appearances and has even contributed towards four goals. While his contract with the Seagulls runs until the summer of 2028, he could be on the move in the near future as there is no shortage of interest in his services.
Baleba could join an English giant in the winter
Even before he joined Brighton, Arsenal and Liverpool were amongst the sides keeping a close eye on Carlos Baleba’s progress. While they could not sign him back then, the duo have retained interest in his services.
Both clubs want a new number six. Arsenal are looking to prepare for life without Thomas Partey, while the Reds seek an upgrade on Wataru Endo. Liverpool want someone who can compete with Ryan Gravenberch, who has taken up the defensive midfield role this season.
Both English giants have been closely monitoring him of late. However, they face competition from Aston Villa as well as Tottenham Hotspur. The Villans made quite a few signings to replace Douglas Luiz, but they are still in search of more quality in the centre of the park. Baleba could help their cause.
As far as TottenhM are concerned, they parted ways with quite a few of their midfielders in the summer. Spurs lack depth as well as quality, and Baleba is a perfect fit for their new project will revolves around signing the best young players. With all four Premier League clubs watching him closely, it will be interesting to see if either of them make a concrete move in the winter.