Head coach Hurzeler 'very confident' on Baleba's future at Brighton

Brighton, Aug 15 (IANS) Brighton and Hove Albion head coach Fabian Hurzeler expressed confidence that talented midfielder Carlos Baleba will not be leaving the club despite interest.

Baleba has been at the centre of a lot of transfer speculation in the last couple of weeks, but Hurzeler has no doubt about where the Cameroonian will be playing his football this coming campaign.

"Very, very, very confident (that he will not leave). I didn't see any change in him. He only changed his hair, so I think that was the only change he made in the last two weeks!

"But overall, he seems to be in a really good place. He's enjoying it with his teammates. He's enjoying being a Brighton player. He's very grateful to have the progress he made in the last season. So I didn't see any big change,” said the German head coach in his pre-game conference.

Manchester United are said to be highly interested in securing Baleba’s signature. Reports suggest only a bid north of the 100 million pound bracket can persuade them to let him leave this summer.

United’s financial issues are no secret and the club has already spent big this summer with the acquisitions of Bryan Mbuemo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha. The Red Devils are currently working on the outgoings of Alejandro Garnacho, Jadon Sancho, Rasmus Hojlund and Antony, which could facilitate a potential move for the side.

Brighton will face Fulham in their Premier League opener at Amex Stadium on Saturday. The London side’s head coach Marco Silva confirmed Antonee Robinson and Ryan Sessegnon will not take part in the game.m

"There are not really any injuries. We had a situation last season with Antonee Robinson and he is still recovering. Soon you are going to see him in contention for the games but this weekend is too early.

"Ryan Sessegnon came out in the last game against Eintracht Frankfurt and we will see how he is. We've got another session tomorrow and that is when we will take a decision. Apart from these two, everyone else is in contention for Brighton,” said Silva.

--IANS

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