Carlos Baleba

Carlos Baleba
Personal information
Full name Carlos Noom Quomah Baleba
Date of birth (2004-01-03) 3 January 2004 (age 20)
Place of birth Douala, Cameroon
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Brighton & Hove Albion
Number 20
Youth career
Futur Soccer FC
2017–2022 EF Brasseries du Cameroun
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2022–2023 Lille B 13 (1)
2022–2023 Lille 21 (0)
2023– Brighton & Hove Albion 33 (1)
International career‡
2024– Cameroon 5 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 23:05, 6 October 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 11 October 2024

Carlos Noom Quomah Baleba (born 3 January 2004) is a Cameroonian professional footballer who plays as a central or defensive midfielder for Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion and the Cameroon national team.

Early life

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Carlos Noom Quomah Baleba was born on 4 January 2004 in Douala, Cameroon.[1] His father is a former professional footballer who played in South Africa and Cameroon.[2] He grew up in the neighbourhood of Akwa and is of Bassa descent.[2] Baleba started playing football at Futur Soccer FC in Douala and then joined École de Football des Brasseries du Cameroun academy centre at the age of 13.[2]

Club career

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Lille

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Baleba was transferred to French team Lille in January 2022,[3][4] having already attracted the scouts of several other European clubs.[5][6] Having arrived in the Nord along with another youngster Joffrey Bazié; the two Africans first joined Lille's reserve team, that played in National 3 that season.[5][7]

Despite being in the matchday squad multiple times towards the end of the 2021–22 Ligue 1 season, Baleba's professional debut had to wait until the 2022–23 Ligue 1 season where he would break into the first team of newly appointed manager, Paulo Fonseca.[8][9][10]

He made his professional debut for Lille on 7 August 2022, replacing Angel Gomes during a 4–1 Ligue 1 win against Auxerre.[11][12][13]

Brighton & Hove Albion

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On 29 August 2023, Premier League club Brighton & Hove Albion announced the signing of Baleba on a five-year contract.[14] According to various reports, the financial details of the transfer include an initial and base fee of €27 million, a maximum of €3 million add-ons depending on sporting conditions and a 15% sell-on clause.[15][16][17][18] Baleba made his debut for Brighton in a 3–1 home victory against AFC Bournemouth on 24 September, coming on as a 73rd minute substitute for Mahmoud Dahoud.[19] On 8 October, Baleba made his first start for Brighton in a 2–2 draw against Liverpool.[20]

On 18 September, 2024, Baleba would score his first goal in Brighton colors in a 3-2 win against Wolves to help the Albion move onto the fourth round of the EFL Cup. [21] Just over a week later on 28 September, Baleba scored his first league goal for the Seagulls in a dramatic 4-2 loss against Chelsea. [22]

International career

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Baleba made his debut for the Cameroon national team on 8 June 2024 in a World Cup qualifier 4–1 victory against Cape Verde at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium. He started the game and played 80 minutes.[23]

Style of play

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Known for his stamina, dribbling and passing range, Baleba is a complete and powerful central midfielder who can play in a box-to-box role or as a holding midfielder. He grew up idolising Paul Pogba, Kevin De Bruyne, Thiago Alcântara as well as former Lille players Nicolas Pépé and Idrissa Gueye, a collection of unrelated players either theirs roles, positions, and skills.[2]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 6 October 2024[24]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Lille B 2021–22 Championnat National 3 9 1 — — — 9 1
2022–23 Championnat National 3 4 0 — — — 4 0
Total 13 1 — — — 13 1
Lille 2022–23 Ligue 1 19 0 2 0 — — 21 0
2023–24 Ligue 1 2 0 — — — 2 0
Total 21 0 2 0 — — 23 0
Brighton & Hove Albion 2023–24 Premier League 27 0 3 0 1 0 6[a] 0 37 0
2024–25 Premier League 6 1 0 0 2 1 — 8 2
Total 33 1 3 0 3 1 6 0 45 2
Career total 67 2 5 0 3 1 6 0 81 3
  1. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League

International

[edit]
As of match played 11 October 2024
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Cameroon
2024 5 0
As of match played 11 October 2024

References

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  1. ^ "Carlos Baleba". LOSC (in French). Archived from the original on 25 January 2023. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Pousset, Maxime (24 January 2023). "Dans les pas de Carlos Baleba". LOSC (in French). Retrieved 25 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Carlos Baleba est Lillois". efbc-cm.com. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  4. ^ "Carlos Baleba, un nouveau Camerounais au LOSC". LOSC (in French). 14 January 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b Guilbaud, Philippe (14 January 2022). "Mercato : la pépite Carlos Baleba s'engage pour cinq ans au LOSC". La Voix du Nord (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  6. ^ Yomba, Steve Wilfried (6 January 2022). "Mercato: Âgé de 18 ans, Carlos Noom Baleba signe au LOSC". Camerfoot-Infos (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  7. ^ Da Rocha, Joseph (14 January 2022). "Officiel : Carlos Baleba et Joffrey Bazié rejoignent le LOSC". Le Petit Lillois (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  8. ^ Esanji, Isaac (1 August 2022). "Ligue 1 : Carlos Baleba, la très belle révélation camerounaise de la préparation de Lille". L'Actu (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  9. ^ "LOSC : Carlos Baleba, la très belle révélation de la préparation". La Voix du Nord (in French). 1 August 2022. Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  10. ^ Bja, Rayan (31 July 2022). "Carlos Baleba, le milieu qui monte au LOSC". Le Petit Lillois (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  11. ^ Marouby, Corentin (7 August 2022). "Lille 4-1 Auxerre, Ligue 1, résultat et résumé du match". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  12. ^ Esanji, Isaac (8 August 2022). "Carlos Baleba : " Fier d'avoir effectué mes premières minutes en Ligue 1 "". L'Actu (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  13. ^ Lasseron, Arthur (8 August 2022). "Paulo Fonseca (LOSC) : " C'est très important de démarrer fort "". Le 11 HDF (in French). Retrieved 8 August 2022.
  14. ^ Hanson, Charlie (29 August 2023). "Carlos Baleba joins Albion from Lille". Brighton & Hove Albion. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  15. ^ Sherlock, Harry (26 August 2023). "Moises Caicedo replacement? Brighton close in on 19-year-old wonderkid Carlos Baleba to replace £115m man". Goal. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  16. ^ "Lille to retain 15% sell-on clause in departure of Carlos Baleba to Brighton". OneFootball. 28 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  17. ^ Lafont, Romain (28 August 2023). "Transferts : Carlos Baleba (Lille) à Brighton, c'est imminent". L'Équipe (in French). Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  18. ^ Marcant, Raphaël (29 August 2023). "Officiel : Carlos Baleba quitte le LOSC pour Brighton et la Premier League". Le Petit Lillois (in French). Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  19. ^ https://www.brightonandhovealbion.com/news/3698892/mitoma-magic-as-albion-pick-off-the-cherries [bare URL]
  20. ^ Brighton and Hove Albion F.C. (8 October 2023). "Team News for Liverpool 08.10.2023". X.com. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  21. ^ The BBC (18 September 2024). "Brighton defeat Wolves to move forward in the EFL Cup". BBC.com. Retrieved 18 September 2024.
  22. ^ The Guardian (28 September 2024). "Chelsea's Cole Palmer hits record four goals in first half to rock Brighton". TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 28 September 2024.
  23. ^ "Cameroon v Cape Verde game report". ESPN. 8 June 2024.
  24. ^ Carlos Baleba at Soccerway
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