Earlier this season, there was a moment in Carlos Baleba’s Brighton career which felt like an important and noticeable step.
Playing away at Chelsea, the midfielder tackled Moises Caicedo – not only English football’s most expensive player but the exact individual he was tasked with replacing at Brighton – on the edge of the box before slamming the ball into the net.
It only added to what many may already have been debating at the south coast club. Brighton have seen many talented midfielders come through in the last few years – Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Yves Bissouma to name a few – but could Baleba become the best of the lot?
“How can they say that I’m better than them?” Baleba tells Sky Sports from Brighton’s training ground this week. “I hate comparisons and people comparing me to others. But I guess you can’t stop them from doing it.
“Even if you’re dazzling the fans, you’ve just got to keep a cool head on your shoulders. I prefer working hard and staying concentrated.”
Being compared to multi-million pound midfielders may seem like a stretch but Baleba is put in a bracket of importance that Caicedo, Mac Allister and Co once held at this club. Brighton fans have even attributed the team’s recent results to Baleba’s availability. Just do a quick search through some social media posts.
The collapse from 2-0 to 2-2 against Wolves party occurred because manager Fabian Hurzeler substituted Baleba. And would Brighton have let another lead slip at Liverpool had the midfielder, an unused substitute due to a knee knock, been on the pitch?
So does this mean Baleba is next in line in the Brighton departure lounge queue? When the player moved to the Seagulls last summer, he fit precisely the type of player they tend to go for – young and doused in potential.
The next stages include going under the radar, coming out from nowhere and then moving to a top club after two or three years.
“I don’t really think like that: playing for two or three years and then leaving,” says Baleba when asked if he thought about that well-trodden path before moving to the south coast last summer. “Me? I just work. In my head it’s all about working and helping my club.
“If I can help a team-mate, I will. If they can help me, I’ll accept that help to push forward and develop. So I just work to help my team and for myself, to progress for the future.
“In return, everyone who helps me wants me to go to the highest level. And if there are big clubs who want me, it’s not something that worries me or gets me excited. I just need to work hard and keep a cool head.
“I don’t know if I’m going to be the star or the next big thing. For me, being the star is quite a lot. Everyone talking about you, singing your name? That just doesn’t do it for me. It’s not something that gets me running. I just prefer getting my head down and working on the pitch.”
You may have noticed it already, but Baleba mentions the phrase “cool head” a fair bit. It is needed in this Brighton team.
Just like under Roberto De Zerbi, Hurzeler’s Seagulls have a strict policy of playing out from the back. Baleba is one of many players tasked with holding the ball on the edge of the box, fending off multiple pressing players.
“You need the courage to come out with the ball in difficult and risky areas,” says Baleba. “It’s all about the confidence you have in yourself – to want to take the ball in those areas – and playing simple.
“If you play simple in those areas, you can easily play around the back. If you complicate things technically, you can’t do it.
“It’s about having the bravery to show what you’re capable of. We take risks – and you have to take risks at this level. So having the courage to do it, you can play out the back easily, without losing it.”
But last season, it proved to be an issue for the midfielder. Baleba made five errors leading to a shot or goal last term: since he joined Brighton last summer, only one outfield player – Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie – has more.
But that is where new manager Hurzeler has come in: to change his mindset about making mistakes.
“He’s told not me to not worry so much,” says the midfielder of his manager. “When I make a bad pass and then get angry, he tells me it’s not a problem. ‘Wait for the next ball, try again, try again.’ Just like that. He’s given me confidence so I can express myself on the pitch.
“Fabian said he didn’t really know who I was before, it’s on the pitch where he’s really gotten to know me. He’s given me that confidence and I want to give something back, so we can develop and go forwards.”
How far forwards can Baleba go in the game then? There are some moments in this interview where Baleba’s persona shifts from humble to ambitious.
“At the end of my career, I want to have an individual title, to play and mark a little bit of history like the great midfielders have done before,” he says. “And then win trophies, lots of trophies, with my club and my country.”
Is that achievable at Brighton? “For me, there are opportunities everywhere,” he replies. “I can win trophies here with Brighton, I can win trophies at another club.
“My ambition is to just win trophies everywhere I go. Just doing that and making the world happy.”
Perhaps Baleba could be inspired by Rodri, especially in the Brighton midfielder’s desire to have an individual trophy to his name.
Baleba is, like the recently-crowned Ballon d’Or winner for this year, a defensive midfielder with an impact at the top end of the pitch. “Attack, defend, box-to-box midfielder,” says the Brighton player about his own role. But are they really comparable?
“I don’t think so,” Baleba adds. “Even so, Rodri is the best player in the world at the moment! He’s won the Ballon d’Or and I’m still learning from him – I’m like a schoolkid compared to him. I just learn from him and other players.
“My game’s inspired by a lot of people who I’ve admired since I was a kid. Kevin de Bruyne, Paul Pogba, Thiago Alcantara, Xavi, Andres Iniesta – so many others. So I’ve got the knack of doing something with the ball at my feet, I’m still working on that.
“It’s every footballer’s childhood dream, winning the Ballon d’Or. I dream of winning it and even if it’s a European or African prize, it’s still a Ballon d’Or to me.”
That’s lucky. Baleba was nominated for Young African Player of the Year just a few weeks ago, alongside Brighton team-mate Yankuba Minteh. It’s a start.
The Rodri discussion is brought up deliberately given Baleba’s Brighton host City, live on Sky Sports, this Saturday evening. A tough challenge, especially for a Seagulls side facing the harsh reality of three games without a win.
But recent performances in big games should give the Seagulls room for positivity against the Premier League champions. This season, the south coast club have drawn at Arsenal, beaten Manchester United and even Arne Slot admitted his Liverpool team were “dominated” by Brighton in last weekend’s first half.
“We beat United but lost to Liverpool, that doesn’t mean you should be afraid to take on Man City without risks,” says Baleba.
“We always have the same needs, the same courage. We work hard during the week to play, and we play to win.
“Even if there’s disappointment or sadness in the group, you just pick yourself up, lift the heads up and work. Even after the most recent games, where we gave everything and didn’t win. Next game, you do everything to win – and you need to win.”
Baleba is not sure he will be involved on Saturday night. The knee injury that kept him sidelined against Liverpool is taking some time to heal and makes him a doubt. Even if he is not involved, he is confident.
“I know my team have the bravery and the strength to do it to take the risks, to do what it takes to beat Man City,” he says. “We’ve got confidence in ourselves and we’re going to be brave at the weekend.”
Watch Brighton vs Man City live on Sky Sports Premier League this Saturday night from 5pm; kick-off 5.30pm