Brighton & Hove Albion sign Carlos Baleba from Lille on five-year deal

The 19-year-old has put pen to paper on a five-year contract until June 2028 and joins the Seagulls for and undisclosed fee, believed to be around €30m (£25.8m).

Baleba was swiftly identified by Brighton as a replacement for Moises Caicedo, who completed a British-record £115m transfer to Chelsea earlier this month.

The Cameroonian has become Roberto De Zerbi's seventh signing of the summer transfer window after Joao Pedro, Bart Verbruggen, Igor Julio, James Milner, Mahmoud Dahoud and Adrian Mazilu.

Speaking to Brighton's official website on Baleba's move to the South Coast, De Zerbi said: "Carlos is a very good player. He's very young but a specific player for our style. He will be the future of the club."

Technical director David Weir added, "We are really happy to be able to bring Carlos to the club.

"He's 19 and will need some time to get used to his new surroundings, our culture and the language; he will get all the support he needs to make that transition and we're looking forward to seeing him in action."

Born in the Cameroonian city of Douala, Baleba began his career with Futur Soccer FC before joining the Ecole de Football des Brasseries du Cameroun academy centre as a 13-year-old.

The midfielder then made his first move to Europe when he joined French side Lille in January 2022, and he made nine appearances for the club's youth team during the second half of the 2021-22 season.

Baleba was handed his senior debut in August 2022 under Paulo Fonseca and went on to feature 19 times for Lille in Ligue 1 last season, including five starts and 14 substitute outings.

The teenager, who primarily operates as a defensive midfielder, made a further two appearances for Lille at the start of this season, but he has now decided to take the next step in his career by moving to the Premier League with Brighton.

Baleba could be in a position to make his Seagulls debut when they play host to Newcastle United at the American Express Community Stadium on Saturday evening.