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Carlos Baleba has distanced himself from rumours that he could be set to leave Brighton for a ‘big club’ in the near future, with Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham believed to be tracking his performances.
The 20-year-old has quickly settled into life at Brighton and established himself as a key player at the heart of the Seagulls’ midfield, making ten appearances in all competitions this season.
Clearly enjoying life under new head coach Fabian Hurzeler, Baleba has added goals to his game this term, netting against Wolves and Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and Premier League respectively.
However, speculation has been mounting that Baleba may soon be destined to swap the south coast for north London after Arsenal were credited with a ‘long-standing interest’ in the youngster.
Liverpool and Spurs have also been linked in recent weeks but Brighton are in no rush to cash in on the former Lille man, who has four years remaining on his current contract at the Amex Stadium.
Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Robert Sanchez were sold for a combined total of around £158million last year, leaving Brighton financially secure for the foreseeable future.
And while Tony Bloom’s Brighton business model has centred around making profit on previously unheralded players, Baleba remains focused on ‘getting his head down’ and has no thoughts about leaving anytime soon.
‘I don’t really think like that: playing for two or three years and then leaving. Me? I just work. In my head it’s all about working and helping my club,’ Baleba told Sky Sports.
‘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.’
Baleba had big shoes to fill trying to replace Caicedo in Brighton’s engine room but the Cameroon international has come into his own over the last 12 months, rapidly winning over new manager Hurzeler.
‘I think he’s a great player, he’s developing and improving fast and he’s adapting to the ideas very quickly,’ Hurzeler said of Baleba in September.
He understands it and as I have always said he has so much potential.
‘When we go into detail there’s so many things where you can improve, and our job is to help him and to give him this environment.
‘I have great staff who help him every day – my assistant coaches and my analysts work with him and talk to him.’
The Brighton boss added: ‘It’s very important for young players that they always get fast feedback after their performance.
‘It’s very important to find a balance when giving a player positive feedback, because also you have to say to him “you have to improve this and that”.
‘I think that’s very important so as not to stagnate in your development. You have to always try to improve.’
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