Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba wants to win AFCON but with fierce competition

“Nope,” says Carlos Baleba, responding with a laugh when asked whether there were any advantages to being a left-footer in central midfield.

“I don’t care if midfielders are left- or right-footed. When I was a kid, my dad trained me for both, but I use my left a lot.”

The Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder turns 22 at the start of January, at which point the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), a competition he wants to win with Cameroon, will be entering the knockout rounds.

Baleba has made 11 senior international appearances and is set to make his AFCON debut this month, with Cameroon’s opening game coming on December 24 against Gabon in Morocco.

He has, he tells The Athletic, “some memories” of AFCON tournaments, the standout being the 2017 final between Cameroon and Egypt. “The last goal for Vincent Aboubakar,” he says.

Aboubakar’s winner eight years ago meant Cameroon came from 1-0 behind to claim their fifth continental title, and first since 2002. Since then, their best has been a third-place finish on home soil in 2021. They were knocked out by Nigeria in the round of 16 in 2024 after an underwhelming group stage.

“Everyone wants to beat Cameroon,” he says.

Baleba was converted to a box-to-box midfielder — the position played by his hero growing up, Paul Pogba — when playing under-18s football for EF Brasseries du Cameroun academy. During a 20-minute video call, the midfielder recalls being coached by his father, Eugene, in Douala, Cameroon’s largest city and its economic capital.

“The first thing he gave me is the ball,” Baleba, sporting a white tech jacket and cap, says. “He wanted me to be a professional and a big player, to play like Ronaldinho, Neymar, Maradona.”

A young Baleba never quite made it as a winger, but the dribbling and ball-carrying of his early days are visible when he tries to turn out under pressure from midfield at Brighton.

“I came into midfield,” Baleba continues. “He wanted me to play like Ronaldinho, a No 10. But when I left Cameroon for France, I played as No 6 or central midfield.”

While not always consistent, his performances for Brighton have caught the eye of bigger clubs — Manchester United tried to sign him this summer.

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (R) and Carlos Baleba (L) battle for the ball during at Old Trafford on October 25, 2025.

He is expected to become the latest Brighton midfielder to be sold for significantly more than the club paid for him, following in the footsteps of Alexis Mac Allister (to Liverpool), Moises Caicedo (Chelsea), Yves Bissouma (Tottenham Hotspur), Billy Gilmour (Napoli) and Pascal Gross (Borussia Dortmund). They departed for more than £180million ($240m) combined.

Baleba has established himself in Brighton’s midfield since his £23.2m signing from Lille in 2023, a deal done after just 47 appearances in Ligue 1 across two seasons. He had moved to northern France in 2022, first playing in the B team before breaking into the senior side the following year, and learned, he says, “so many things”.

“The gaffer (Paulo Fonseca, Lille’s head coach at the time) told me to continue to work hard and keep your mind calm. When I was in the first team, they always told me the same things: ‘Continue to work, continue to be humble’.”

Paired with Gross in a 4-2-3-1, his first two starts for Brighton came at Manchester City and then at home against Liverpool during the 2023-24 season, The tactically demanding Roberto De Zerbi wanted, and needed, his central midfielders to be aggressive man-markers, and have the ability to receive the ball facing goal on the edge of their own penalty area to execute combinations against the press.

Fabian Hurzeler, his successor at Brighton, is similarly aggressive defensively and likes Baleba to drop between the centre-backs in settled possession, opening up passing angles.

He is developing into an everything midfielder. He likes to be on the ball and makes the press work with touch-tight defending. Though he occasionally overplays, his tendency to shoot from distance has become less frequent and he has shown he can score long-range goals.

“Focused, directly committed, always smiling,” is how he describes himself as a player, though he says his style of play changes when playing for Cameroon. He prefers the freedom he has in international football, but adds he would not want such a role in the Premier League.

“When I play for Cameroon, I’m different,” he says, “because I have a different role — more free.”

Baleba responds diplomatically to a question about Cameroon’s chances of success in Morocco despite multiple senior players being left out of the squad, including Aboubakar and former Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana.

“It’s a challenge for everyone,” he says.

Samuel Eto’o, the president of Cameroon’s football federation (FECAFOOT), sacked national team head coach Mark Brys on the same day their AFCON squad was announced. Baleba, understandably, does not want to talk about Eto’o, though the departure of Brys, who has been succeeded by David Pagou, is a particularly personal one for him.

“We have a good relationship, he gave me my chance for my first selection for Cameroon,” he says of Brys before recalling how “scared” he was before his debut at home against Cape Verde in June last year.

“But when the ref blew the whistle, I was like, ‘It’s just a game, just enjoy, play and win the game’,” he says of the 4-1 win. “I was very good.

“People were shouting my name everywhere. When I’m on the bus after training, I saw everyone shout my name, ‘Carlos Baleba, Carlos Baleba’. It made me feel really good, it’s a pleasure for me.”

From Ligue 1 to the Premier League and now AFCON. During a turbo-charged two years, Baleba has negotiated each giant step smoothly.

The one thing he will have to wait for is a World Cup appearance, since DR Congo beat Cameroon in the African play-off semi-finals for next summer’s tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. After being booked in the 16th minute, he was substituted at half-time, with DR Congo going on to score a 91st-minute winner.

“After the game I felt sad, but I need to be in the present to continue to work,” Baleba says, sounding wise beyond his years.

And, very quickly, there is the reminder that he is still very young. “I watch anime, play PlayStation with friends,” he says, when asked how he unwinds.

Those hobbies will have to wait a while. Baleba has an AFCON to win.