'We think' - CEO confirms transfer stance amid Liverpool 'interest' in £100m-rated midfielder

Brighton CEO Paul Barber has insisted that player sales 'have to be right' for the club amid Liverpool’s transfer links to Carlos Baleba.

The midfielder has enjoyed an outstanding start to the season for the high-flying Seagulls. Baleba has made 12 appearances, recording two goals and two assists as Brighton sit fourth in the Premier League table.

The south-coast outfit are revered for their ability to sign unknown quantities and sell them for significant fees. They have done so with Yves Bissouma, Marc Cucurella, Leonadro Trossard and Moises Caicedo, while Alexis Mac Allister joined Liverpool for £35 million in July 2023.

Baleba could be the next one off the Amex Stadium conveyor belt to depart for a sizeable price, although he did cost Brighton a reported £23.2 million from Lille in August 2023. Liverpool have been credited with an interest, having failed to sign Real Sociedad's Martin Zubimendi in the summer, while Arsenal have also been suggested as potential suitors for the 20-year-old.

Barber, speaking to talkSPORT before the Seagulls' 1-1 draw against Southampton last weekend, confirmed that chairman Tony Bloom has the final say on which players are allowed to leave.

“It will always be ultimately the chairman because he owns the club and we're using his money, whether we're bringing money in or spending it,” said Barber. “I think the key thing is that we all talk about it openly, we don't sort of disengage the player by hearing a bid and then not talking to the player's agent.

"Nine times out of 10, 99 times out of 100, the agent will know before we will anyway, but the most important thing is that we have to sell at the right time for everybody. It might be a little bit too early for the player, it might not be the right club for the player, it might not be the right time for us, it might not be the right transfer window for us.

"So, we try and be as open as possible, we try and have players on contracts that give us ultimately the control and if that is the case, then all the circumstances have to be right for us to want to sell. If they're not right, we won't sell. If we think it's going to be to the detriment of the team in the short-term, we won't sell."

Former Brighton striker Warren Aspinall believes Baleba is on par with Caicedo - who joined Chelsea for a British-record fee of £115 million after Liverpool also had a bid accepted. Aspinall told BBC Radio Sussex: "He is getting better and better. When he gets the ball on the half-turn, he uses his body and strength to get that quick five yards and get his head up. Then he can break the lines and take two or three midfield players out of the game straight away.

"Sometimes he takes too many touches with his head down and he gets all flustered. If he can get his head up and look around - because he's gained that space with his power in the first five yards - he can then play a simple pass.

"To become a top player now, he needs to be consistent. It's not about having three good games, three bad games. He needs to have games like he did against Manchester City, against a top-class midfield. We have seen glimpses of his potential.

"He gets frustrated with himself at times in games, but he doesn't need to do that. The world is his oyster. Moises Caicedo went for over £100m and Baleba is on a par with him. He is probably the next player that will be on the conveyor belt to go for bigger money. We need to keep these players if we can - they have all got a price tag on their heads.”