Albion have been handed a major boost as the 2025/26 season looks set to kick off. Fabian Hürzeler has expressed his positivity towards star player Carlos Baleba staying at the club.
Hürzeler said:
“I am very very very very confident. My belief. I didn’t see any change, the only change is his hair! He is enjoying with his teammates and being a Brighton player. He is an option to start for tomorrow.”
What does this actually mean for Brighton?
It’d be easy to be too carried away, but the words from the head coach are certainly encouraging. The fact that we have a player who is not attempting to force a move like certain players in the past is reassuring. Baleba is one of those good personalities who rub off on those around him. His infectious and crazy attitude is perfect for moments where there is a lot of noise around his name.
Manchester United are yet to submit an official bid, and will look to sell players like Alejandro Garnacho before attempting to make a swoop. The real question is how the Seagulls will counteract this. If the imaginary valuation of around £100m+ comes in, how will they deal with it? Of course, for a club of Brighton’s status, it is an obscene sum of money, but is it more important than the season?
Tony Bloom’s monstrous quotes were a breath of fresh air in recent weeks. Setting his targets to win trophies, not ‘slow down’, and changing the shift of mentality from aiming for top 10 into looking for Europe every season. Public statements like this are the type of ambition you want to see from an owner who has transformed the club like he has over the last decade. Of course, words are words, and the proof will always be in the pudding. To suggest achieving Europe every season is possible whilst selling your finest players every summer wouldn’t be practical, and so there must be a balance.
Retaining Kaoru Mitoma, Jan Paul Van Hecke, and Carlos Baleba would be more than a successful summer, even if that does mean losing João Pedro. Most Brighton fans would’ve taken that offer before the summer window opened, and rightly so. The club model is to buy low and sell high, but only when the time is right. Perhaps, the timings could be different to how they once were.
Looking at it this way: Mitoma, Van Hecke, Baleba and João Pedro could all comfortably play Champions League football, that is no secret. The potential of the overall squad is quite incredible to think about. That word ‘balance’ will apply once again here, but the ceiling is still out of sight. From a fan’s point of view, you want to see those achievements here. That is how you define ambition. To take the club to the summit of European football is the dream, but it isn’t far away from being a reality. If those regular sales are turned into slightly irregular sales, you have a better chance.
Of course, a player of Baleba’s calibre is a rare breed. Players like him do not come around often, and of the numerous high-ability midfielders to grace the blue and white stripes in recent years, his overall game is right up there with the very best. His profile is so exciting. He can take the ball from one end of the pitch to the other, bully accomplished opposing midfielders, dictate games by himself, tackle strongly and shoot impressively. Being a combined game changer, match winner, and play breaker is something not many players can say they can do. The profile comparison to Yaya Touré looks less and less ridiculous by the minute.
Players of that ability will always have a lot of noise in the media, especially when certain club narratives will want to dictate the moments. Manchester United have been rampant in the media, but the fact is: no bid has been received (yet). This is the moment where we will truly see if the actions meet the words when it comes to retaining our best players and giving the head coach the best possible team to achieve the ambitions of the club.
As Fabian Hürzeler said in today’s presser:
“I align with the expectations of the owner. You need to commit to big and high expectations because if you don’t commit, then deep inside you don’t have the belief you can make it. So my biggest thing in life is commitment.
We still have most of the players we had available from last season so we continue building on the things we built on last season. So we go step by step.”
Everyone knows we can do it, and the statements are big this summer. It’s all about seeing it now, and my goodness me I cannot wait to be back in the West Upper tomorrow afternoon. Roll on this new, exciting season.
