Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler is “very, very confident” that Carlos Baleba will stay at the club this summer despite links with Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim is pushing to sign the 21-year-old as he seeks to strengthen in midfield after heavy investment in Manchester United’s forward line earlier in the window.
Baleba has impressed over the last two seasons since arriving in the Premier League from Lille, and could possibly be the latest player to flourish at Brighton before moving to a bigger club for a significant fee.
Brighton, however, are said to be commanding a fee in excess of £100m for the Cameroon international with Hurzeler understandably keen to keep a key figure in his side for his second season in charge.
Baleba has been absent from the backend of Brighton’s pre-season preparations with a knee injury but is back in contention to feature in their Premier League opener against Fulham at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
“He is an option to start tomorrow," Hurzeler confirmed, adding that he was “very, very confident” that Baleba would stay.
"I didn't see any change. He seems to be in a very good place, enjoying it with his team-mates."
Brighton have already sold Joao Pedro to Chelsea for a significant fee this summer, while Hurzeler has also lost Pervis Estupinan, Simon Adingra and Evan Ferguson, who has joined Roma on loan.
New recruits Charalampos Kostoulas and Maxim De Cuyper could make their competitive debuts.
