Nottingham Forest vs Brighton: How Elliot Anderson has outshone Carlos Baleba as the Premier League’s hottest young midfielder | Football News

£100m. That was the price tag slapped on Carlos Baleba when Manchester United’s interest in the midfielder became apparent the summer.

The Cameroonian was earmarked as the all-action midfielder Ruben Amorim needed and seen as the next in a long line of gems that Brighton had uncovered for a bargain and could sell on for some serious profit.

Yet, as the January transfer window approaches, links to a move away from the Amex have dried up. Ever since boss Fabian Hurzeler admitted that the player had been distracted by the noise surrounding his future, there has been another face catching the eye.

Now, you hear less about clubs monitoring Baleba as all the interested parties seem to be battling it out to be the front of the queue to snap up Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson.

Anderson has shone for club and country. Thomas Tuchel even admitted that he and Declan Rice are ahead of everybody fighting for a place in his midfield come the World Cup.

Meanwhile, Baleba was hauled off at half-time for the fourth time this season in Brighton’s most recent game against Brentford.

There seems to have been a change in fortune for one as the other continues to kick on ahead of the pair’s meeting live on Sky Sports this Sunday. The question is, where has the stagnation from Baleba and the development from Anderson occurred?

Anderson stepping up in the biggest season of his career

Both players came into the season off the back of potentially life-changing summers.

Baleba had the aforementioned transfer interest from Old Trafford, while Anderson featured in all six games as England’s Under-21s retained their European title.

You’d think that level of activity over the summer would potentially lead to a slower start to the season, but that hasn’t been the case. If anything, he’s been hotter than ever.

Anderson has not missed a single minute of Premier League football for Forest this season, despite already playing under three different managers. This all while playing in Europe for the first time and earning his first six senior international caps.

Whether it was Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou or Sean Dyche, the reason why the midfielder was irreplaceable is clear as the data shows how he has kicked on from last season.

Anderson’s per-90 stats at both ends of the pitch have seen continued growth. While he may average less shots compared to last term (1.31-1.17), his accuracy has improved by over 11 per cent and his xG has nearly doubled.

Creatively, he is far more involved in his side’s build-up play too. He has created more chances, played and completed more passes – though some may argue this is partially down to Postecoglou’s insistence on a more fluid style of play than Espirito Santo adopted last season – while also being involved in the final third of the pitch more frequently.

Perhaps his biggest improvement though, is defensively. While Anderson does average less tackles and interceptions than last season, he is winning back possession far more in the middle and defensive thirds.

This, combined with his improved creativity, makes him the perfect blend of midfielders that so many modern-day managers desire. And that was also being said about Baleba last season. But his drop off in comparison reads poorly.

Baleba’s struggles after summer of uncertainty

Across the same 13 categories used to analyse Anderson’s current campaign to the 2024/25 season, Baleba’s numbers have declined in 11 – some significantly so.

His production in attack has taken a noticeable dip, averaging less shots and creating less chances.

Baleba’s passing accuracy is down by more than five per cent, despite the fact he is averaging 6.67 completes passes fewer per 90.

More alarming is his defensive data. The 21-year-old has dropped from 2.66 tackles per 90 to 1.55. From 2.36 possessions won in the defensive third to 1.68. This leaves him outside the top 30 midfielders in the division across these areas. For context, Anderson ranks 16th and first respectively.

Baleba’s figures are also down in possessions won in the middle third and take-ons completed. In fact, the only statistics taken into account where he hasn’t dipped are interceptions, where he remains the same, and number of dispossessions.

An explanation for why that is has not become apparent.

“Carlos won’t get better if he only gets compliments and claps from outside. I think he will get better if he has a safe environment, but also honest feedback where he knows what he needs to improve,” were Hurzeler’s words before Brighton lost 4-2 to United in October, a game in which the midfielder was withdrawn before the hour.

Whatever words have been said don’t seem to have gotten things back on track from where they were earlier this year.

It is clear that something has impacted Baleba’s performance, and if he wants to help the Seagulls win the midfield battle come Sunday, a sudden return to last season’s form is needed to match up with his counterpart.

Watch Nottingham Forest vs Brighton live on Sky Sports Cricket on Super Sunday from 12.30pm, with kick-off at 2pm.