The 19-year-old made his full Premier League debut last weekend, helping Brighton secure a come-from-behind point against title-chasing Liverpool.
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It is a great time to be a Brighton & Hove Albion supporter. The club has been going through an exciting phase of late which has earned them European football this season. The last campaign was a memorable one for Brighton fans, as they finished in an unlikely sixth spot in the Premier League to secure Europa League football. Besides, Brighton were praised for their attractive style of football.
However, it also had one side effect for Brighton. As a result of the good season, other clubs purchased a couple of their big stars in the recently concluded window. Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister had joined Chelsea and Liverpool respectively. Either way, the team continued to make some smart additions in the window, with Carlos Baleba being one of the new recruits after joining from French club Lille.
The 19-year-old made his full Premier League debut last weekend, helping Brighton secure a come-from-behind point against title-chasing Liverpool. Baleba was at his best during the entertaining 2-2 draw on Sunday. The youngster revealed how he kept running despite having a cramp during the match. “At the end of the game I was really tired. There was some cramp,” he was quoted as saying by the club’s website.
He added: “But that did not stop me running, to run back and help defend my goal and commit a foul which enabled us to win the ball back after their free-kick. My first full 90 minutes went well. It was a big match for me. We got a point we needed. The Premier League is a bit of a change for me with the intensity here and the speed of the game. I needed to adapt more quickly but then to make my full debut was a great joy for me. I go home really happy with my performance, and especially with the performance of the team.”
Baleba also went on to reveal how he does not speak English well, even though he can understand it a lot better. “I don’t really speak English but I’m taking lessons. I can understand people but the words don’t really come out of my mouth very well yet! I speak more with Simon [Adingra], Ansu Fati – well, nearly all the group and they speak to me in English and I understand. I try to talk and if I don’t have the words I use a bit of sign language and we understand each other,” he stated.
He added: “My aims for the rest of the season are to score my first goal and to help the team keep going forward. To show what I am capable of the people, to the fans and show what I know I can do and keep helping the team to finish as high as we can.”
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