Arsenal have ‘long-standing’ interest in Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba

Arsenal are scouring the market for possible midfield reinforcements and have identified Brighton star Carlos Baleba as one of their top targets.

Baleba joined Brighton in a £23million deal from Lille in August 2023 and the 20-year-old went on to make 37 appearances in all competitions for the Seagulls across a promising debut season.

The midfielder has picked up where he left off this term and appears to have added goals to his game, netting twice in his opening eight matches under new head coach Fabian Hurzeler.

But according to talkSPORT, Brighton could soon be drawn into a tussle to keep hold of Baleba, with the highly rated youngster said to be a ‘long-standing’ target for Arsenal.

The report claims Liverpool and Tottenham are also keeping close tabs on the Cameroon international, though Brighton are under no pressure to sell after turning all-time record profits for a Premier League side last year.

Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Robert Sanchez were offloaded by Brighton for a combined total of around £158million 12 months ago, leaving the club financially secure for the foreseeable future.

But Tony Bloom’s business model at Brighton has always centred around signing unheralded players for modest fees before selling them on for big money, meaning Baleba is by no means untouchable.

However, Baleba is tied into a contract on the south coast until 2028 and the Seagulls are in no hurry to part with the former Lille man, who is fast becoming a key player in Hurzeler’s plans.

Former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi backed Baleba to successfully fill the void left by Caicedo at the Amex Stadium upon the latter’s high-profile departure for Chelsea last summer.

And just last month, De Zerbi’s successor Hurzeler said the Seagulls had a ‘great player’ on their hands in Baleba.

‘I think he’s a great player, he’s developing and improving fast and he’s adapting to the ideas very quickly,’ the Brighton manager told reporters.

‘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.’

Hurzeler 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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