Brighton midfielder admits he needs to improve and claims key is to “enjoy” his game
Carlos Baleba, Brighton’s midfielder who was linked to Manchester United last summer, says he is now in a better place after a poor start to the season.
Baleba was one of the Premier League’s more outstanding performers last season, leading to interest from Old Trafford in the summer. However, after United made enquiries Brighton effectively dismissed any chances of a move and then slapped a £100m price tag on the Cameroonian.
The player’s form plummeted at the start of the season, people close to him claiming his head had been turned by the interest in him. Since leaving to play for Cameroon in the Africa Cup of Nations, Baleba has recovered some of his old form, although he is still not the player he was last season.
“I feel more relaxed now,” said Baleba. “The noise about me outside, I didn’t understand. I didn’t look on the websites. I’m more focused on me, myself and for my team-mates.”
Last week against Aston Villa, he was taken off just 22 minutes into the first half after receiving a yellow card. The player understands that he still needs to do more to reach anywhere near elite level.
“All my qualities, I need to improve on that,” said the 22-year-old. “The most of the qualities I have is I need to enjoy more football, because when I play, I’m so serious that I want to do the right thing or to do the proper thing on the pitch.”
He said his coaches have been helping him and they all gave him the same advice.
“All of them told me to be free,” said Baleba, “to be relaxed and just enjoy and think about football.”
