Sussex

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Brighton may only be six games into the new season but have they already unearthed their latest star?

Carlos Baleba's all action display in the Carabao Cup third round victory over fellow Premier League side Wolves was impressive to say the least.

The midfielder set the tone in the entertaining encounter with his brilliant strike into the bottom corner from outside the box in the first half.

Baleba, 20, made 27 appearances for Brighton last season but looks to be stepping up even more this campaign.

He may be a defensive midfielder but Baleba is well capable of picking up the ball and surging up the field with it in order to create attacks for his side - as he proved in the win over Wolves.

It may not be too far fetched to think of Baleba in a similar mould to Moises Caicedo - who of course left Brighton to for Chelsea in a British record £115 million deal.

Liverpool are well known to be eyeing a move for a midfielder and were one of the club's in for Caicedo so could they be considering a future move for Baleba?

Only time will tell but do not be surprised to see Baleba's stock continue to rise.

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Three Premier League teams are in Carabao Cup third-round action on Wednesday:

• Brighton v Wolves - 19:45

• Coventry v Tottenham - 20:00

Kick-off times BST

Follow live text commentary of those games

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Carabao Cup third-round tie at home against Wolves (19:45 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Joao Pedro's fitness will be assessed after training on Tuesday after he missed Saturday's draw with Ipswich: "We don't want to take risks."

• Mats Wiefer "will be an option" and Brajan Gruda is "still in rehab training" but "making big improvements".

• Hurzeler said there "won't be 11 changes" to his starting line-up like there was in the second round against Crawley and it will be a "mix" of rotation with players who featured on Saturday.

• On striker Evan Ferguson, who has not started for Brighton since March: "He doesn't have to show me what he can do because I know what his potential is. He has the full package for a striker. It is important he integrates in our style of play and follows our principles."

• He sees the Carabao Cup as a route to silverware: "Cups are competitions where you can win titles and I want to win titles, the club wants to win titles and the players want to win titles. It is a chance for us. I take this game very seriously."

• On the challenge posed by Wolves: "They have great individual players. They have midfield players who can carry the ball. They have a good structure in possession and they have a good style of play. They will be a big challenge for us."

• On opportunities for players who have not featured so far this season: "The players don't have to feel they have to impress me. It is important they prove to themselves they belong to the squad. I am completely convinced with all the players in my squad. I am completely trusting and believing in them."

Follow all of Tuesday's Carabao Cup and Champions League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news