Brighton's replacement for Caicedo is an African teenager with 530 minutes in Ligue 1

Lille's showcase has been one of the most interesting in Europe for years. Everyone can find something in it, from the giants, to the 'middle class', to the 'smaller fish'. And the new big thing from the Pierre Moreau Stadium could be Carlos Baleba, because Brighton know how to 'smell' talent and, like Lille, resell it at a bargain price. The Premier League paid the French club 27,000,000 euros fixed, and may have to pay another 3,000,000 as a bonus for the 19-year-old defensive midfielder.

A little over two years ago, the Seagulls brought in Moises Caicedo from Ecuadorian Independiente del Valle, also as a teenager. And then this summer they sold him to Chelsea for €133,600,000, of which around €17,000,000 went to Independiente based on a percentage of the subsequent sale. Baleba arrived as a replacement for the Ecuadorian and signed a contract until 2028.

Many would say that Brighton took a risk by investing so much money in a guy who played only 530 minutes in Ligue 1, but according to the words of coach Robert De Zerbi, this move was planned by the club from the south of England for a while and the Seagulls expect massive earnings in the future.

“Carlos, very good player. He’s very young but a specific player for our style. He will be the future of the club”, said the Italian.

Lille's scouting service did a great job before Les Dogues brought Baleba from Ecole de Football Brasseries du Cameroun in January 2022. A year and a half later, the teenager became the seventh biggest sale in the history of Lille, and if he activates the bonuses, he will surpass Rafael Leao. Only Nicolas Pepe, Victor Osimhen, Sven Botman, and Amadou Onana are ahead. So much for this guy's potential.

Another recommendation for Brighton to engage in this transfer was Yves Bissouma, a footballer in the same position who was bought from the French club for 16,800,000 euros in the summer of 2018, and sold to Tottenham last summer for 29,200,000 euros.

With Baleba, Brighton's expenses in this transfer window exceeded the sum of 100,000,000 euros, but all the transfers including Bart Verbruggen, Joao Pedro, Igor and Adrian Mazilu were covered by Caicedo's departure and there is still a bit of 'change' left. And let's not forget that the Seagulls also sold Alexis Mac Alister and Robert Sanchez this summer and earned 187,450,000 euros along with a few smaller transfers.