Until Joao Pedro confidently placed his penalty into the side netting there wasn’t an awful lot for Brighton fans to get excited about during a bitty clash against Arsenal in brutal conditions.
But there was one moment within the first five minutes that would have had friends, family members and complete strangers turning to each other in the stands with a raised eyebrow or a nod of appreciation.
It started when William Saliba looped a header away to safety in the general direction of Carlos Baleba. With four Brighton players in Arsenal’s box, most players might have felt compelled to simply nod the ball back from where it came from in the hope it might drop to a blue-and-white striped shirt.
Instead, the Cameroonian controlled it on his chest, nudged it into the air from his left thigh onto the right one and then flicked it over his head before volleying a pass into Joel Veltman, all while being hassled by three opponents closing in on him from three different directions.
It was a piece of skill that led to nothing tangible – it actually took Brighton marginally backwards rather than forwards – but it was a snapshot of the midfielder’s emerging talent and burgeoning confidence.
Here he was mucking about against elite opponents in the toughest league of the world as though he were taking on a bunch of part-timers on the pitches back home in Douala.
It is unclear what Fabian Hurzeler made of Baleba’s showboating, but he will have been delighted by his overall performance in any case. He didn’t just hold his own against a midfield comprised of a £105m player, and two European Champions, but bettered them.
That impromptu juggle was the highlight of an all-action display. Baleba completed 30 of his 32 attempted passes, attempted three tackles and made three blocks. Although he is a diamond in need of further buffing, he has athleticism and technical ability in spades and at just 21 will only get better.
After a year adapting to the English game, he has quietly established himself as a regular under Hurzeler, starting in 15 of Brighton’s 20 Premier League games: only Kaoru Mitoma and Jan-Paul Van Hecke have made more starts. He ranks top for tackles and interceptions in their squad.
Brighton’s transfer market prowess is renowned and admired far and wide. They have been especially successful when recruiting central midfielders: Yves Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo all flourished before moving on for big and in the latter’s case, record-breaking fees.
Baleba is the latest gem off the engine room production line. He is playing at a higher level at his age than any of Bissouma, Mac Allister or Caicedo were. For how long his development continues at the Amex remains to be seen.
But Brighton can rest assured that if and when he does move elsewhere, they will receive a handsome profit on the £25m they paid Lille to sign him as a 19-year-old in 2023. The Premier League’s savviest operators have struck gold yet again.
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