Who is Carlos Baleba? Brighton’s Caicedo replacement courted by Europe’s elite
The demand for high quality talent in football has never been higher. A few years ago, a €100m transfer would raise eyebrows, but so far this summer we have seen the transfer fee for four players exceed that figure.
Some clubs have realised that investing in their scouting can help be the first to identify young talents, giving them a huge advantage over their rivals. Brighton are a prime example of such a team. The club sold Moises Caicedo for €116m after having signed him for a measly €4.5m less than three years prior. If reports are to be believed they might have already found a replacement for their former midfielder. Enter Carlos Baleba.
Baleba graduated from the Brasseries Football School, one of the most distinguished football academies in Africa. After moving to LOSC Lille in January 2022 to initially be part of their B team, his exceptional talent quickly became apparent.
Less than a year after arriving in Europe, Baleba was fast tracked to the first team and started getting regular minutes under manager Paulo Fonseca during the 2022/23 season. Such has been his impact on the pitch that despite playing just over 500 senior minutes, he already has Europe’s elite clubs circling.
Carlos Baleba Transfer Value - how much is he worth?
Baleba’s current Expected Transfer Value (xTV) is only €3.4m. This is typical for a player who is relatively inexperienced at senior professional level.
According to reports, Lille are looking for upwards of €30m to part with their young star. Such is the competition for young talents that the club can afford to stand firm knowing that if teams don't commit now, chances are that they would have to fork out significantly more a year down the line.
Carlos Baleba’s strengths and weaknesses - what does the data say?
Baleba certainly passes the eye test and shows plenty of personality on the pitch. The 19 year-old’s stats are skewed by the limited minutes he played last season, but paint a picture of a player who is good on the ball, can break up the play and also drive forward with the ball.
As WhoScored stats point out, one of his strengths is his 'passing'. Baleba is always showing for the ball and attempts a solid 57 passes per 90. But are these easy backward or sideway passes? Not quite. With 6.21 passes into the final third per 90, Baleba has the confidence to make riskier passes that can help his team progress the ball up the pitch. The Cameroonian also has an excellent passing range and completed 7.72 long passes per 90, putting him in the top 6% of Ligue 1 midfielders last season.
Baleba is known to have played as a winger in his youth, and you can see glimpses of that in his technical skill with the ball. His 3.01 carries into the final third and 2.82 successful take-ons per 90 place him at the very top compared to positional peers in the league. It is almost impossible to stop Baleba when he drives at you - unless you foul him. He draws 3.39 fouls per 90 making him one of the most fouled players in the top five European Leagues.
You would think that his on-ball prowess might result in some defensive weaknesses, but the left-footed midfielder uses his imposing physical presence to win an incredible 2.5 tackles, 1.32 aerials and make 2.45 blocks per 90.
Such a versatile profile means that Baleba can play as a deeper midfielder or in a box-to-box role. Still only in his teens, it will be interesting to see what top European club ends up snapping him up in the final weeks of the window.
This article was provided by FootballTransfers
