Liverpool appear to have missed out on another midfield target to another Premier League rival with Brighton and Hove Albion reportedly agreeing a £26 million deal for Lille’s Carlos Baleba.
Wataru Endo might not have been everyone’s – or even anyone’s – first pick to fill a Fabinho-shaped void at the heart of Fabinho’s midfield, but the Japan international’s second-half cameo against AFC Bournemouth on Saturday offered some insight as to why Jurgen Klopp opted to land him in one of this summer’s more unexpected transfer swoops.
Endo, on his Liverpool debut, gave Klopp’s midfield some much-needed bite and control as the Reds cruised to a surprisingly comfortable 3-1 win with ten men.
Whether Endo can exert the same influence from the start, or against more high-quality opposition, only time will tell. It almost goes without saying that the former Stuttgart skipper was not Liverpool’s first-choice midfield target; Klopp’s side only turning to Endo after missing out on Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and co, while accepting defeat over Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount.
Brighton to replace Moises Caicedo with Carlos Baleba
The Daily Mail reported a few days before Endo’s Anfield arrival that Carlos Baleba was another Liverpool had been keeping tabs on. Ironically enough, however, Baleba will instead step into the shoes of another player who slipped through Klopp’s fingers, taking the place of Moises Caicedo at Brighton.
According to FootMercato, the Roberto de Zerbi’s Premier League pacesetters have agreed a £26 million fee with Lille. At just 19 and with only six Ligue 1 starts under his belt, Baleba is far from a sure thing. But Brighton’s remarkable success in the recruitment department means big things will be expected of a player following in the footsteps of fellow Lille exports Eden Hazard, Amadou Onana and Nicolas Pepe.
“Carlos is the future of the club, there is no doubt,” Lille coach Paulo Fonseca says of the teenage Baleba; an athletic, Rolls Royce of a midfielder who possesses many of then attributes that saw Everton powerhouse Onana stand out across the Channel.
“Carlos is young, but he brings something different, which is very good for us. He is powerful, strong, he carries the ball very well,” adds team-mate Jonathan David.
“I could tell you that I can’t believe (how young he is).”
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