Brighton Coach Identifies Two Players That Could Crash Transfer Market

The manager of Brighton, Roberto De Zerbi, has identified two players who could become the future of the club and command high transfer fees in the coming transfer windows.

In recent seasons, Brighton have shown that they are a club that buys cheap but talented players, groom them, and make them superstars that other top clubs will compete to buy for outrageous transfer fees.

The latest on this category is Moises Caicedo who joined Chelsea from Brighton for a whopping £115 million in the just concluded 2023 summer transfer window. This is the highest transfer fee a Premier League club has ever agreed for a player.

After Brighton hard fought 2-2 Draw with Liverpool on Sunday, October 8, Roberto De Zerbi named three players who impressed him and could also attract world attention in a matter of months.

He mentioned Simon Adingra, and Carlos Baleba, as the outstanding stars in the Premier League game, and specifically called Baleba the future of Brighton.

Carlos Baleba

Interestingly, Adingra, an Ivory Coast winger, is just 21-year-old, while Baleba who is just a 19-year-old Cameroonian defensive midfielder, is seen as Caicedo’s replacement.

The coach said, “We played with a lot of very young players. I have to congratulate my club because they found another two great players – Adingra and Baleba.

“We need to help the new players to play quickly. We need all 22 players to play because this season is tougher than the last.

“We have to change the first XL because we are not ready yet to compete in three competitions. The performance of Adingra and Baleba are very important to us. Igor too.

“It was a great performance of Baleba, Adingra, Igor.

“But we can’t forget Ansu Fati, Dahoud, and the other new players like Joao Pedro. He didn’t score but he played a great, great game. He worked a lot for the team. He is becoming a great player.”

Simon Adingra

On the impact of Baleba, the Brighton coach added, “We need the characteristics of Baleba. He is a great replacement for Moises Caicedo.

“I gave him [Baleba] the right step. I gave him the last part of the game with Bournemouth. He played 70 minutes at Stamford Bridge, away.

“Then I gave him the right time to understand the new style of play. Understanding of timing when he receives the ball. Our style and ideas are not so easy.

“There’s a lot of things. We can change depending on the opponent, with a different way of ball possession.

“He is very young. Very good player. He has incredible potential. He can become one of the most important midfielders in Europe in the future.”