The Romanian view on Tudor Băluță
In a transfer window that was dominated by arrivals for the development squad, one of the more intriguing signings made by Brighton and Hove Albion was that of Tudor Băluță.
Despite being just 19-years-old, Băluță has already made his debut for the Romanian national side which marks him out as potentially being a little different to the raft of new signings from Europe who are largely young, untested prospects.
The £2.5m midfielder has been loaned back to his former club FC Viitorul Constanta until the end of the season. Viitorul themselves are a fascinating club having only been formed in 2009 by Romanian legend Gheorgie Hagi with the purpose of giving young players an opportunity for first team football.
The idea has been an overwhelming success, with Viitorul rising through the divisions under both Hagi’s chairmanship and management to claim the Romanian title two seasons ago.
But what of Băluță? We spoke to Romanian football journalist Alexandru Avram to get his views on Brighton’s newest recruit.
Brighton have spent a fee we believe is around £2.5m on Tudor Băluță. What sort of player are the Albion getting for that money?
Buying a 19 year old capped at senior level for £2.5m looks like a good business and with Băluță being a potential member of a very talented Romania U-21 team at the European Championship in the summer, his market value could increase a lot after the tournament. Băluță is one of the brightest players who has emerged in Romania in the last year. Not the typical flamboyant player developed by Gheorgie Hagi’s academy at FC Viitorul Constanta, Băluță is a tall, strong and disciplined defensive midfielder.
We’ve seen him described as both a defender and a midfielder. Where is his best position?
His best position is definitely defensive midfielder. Although Hagi juggled with him in the past from center back to midfield, this season he was used mostly as a defensive midfielder and this is the position that has also brought him the first cap at the senior national team. With his height, strength and discipline as his main qualities, he is suited to playing as the deepest central midfielder in a 4-3-3 (the “Busquets role”). There is a worry that he may struggle to adapt to a central midfield position in other formations, such as 4-2-3-1, as has been the case in recent years with former Viitorul players that played in the same position. Hagi uses 4-3-3 at every age group in his academy and his youngsters gave the impression that they need more time to adapt when they move to other teams with different philosophies. I fear that Tudor Băluță will have the same problem.
He’s only 19 but has already been capped by Romania. How good do you think he can become?
Băluță made his debut against Serbia and he had a solid, disciplined game. Under normal circumstances he probably wouldn’t have been called up at senior level, however due to a few injuries and suspensions, the national team coach was forced to look at the youngster. This year he has made huge progress and Brighton’s decision to leave him at Viitorul until the summer is clever. He is definitely not the midfielder who can be a match-winner, but rather the one who takes less risks and does the dirty work in the team.
Băluță will stay with Viitorul on loan until the end of the season. Do you think he will be ready for Premier League football next season or will we need to be patient?
I won’t lie, the Romanian first division is one of the poorest leagues in Europe and it’s unlikely that a player from our league is ready to play straight-away in the Premier League. You will need to be patient, as Băluță needs to adapt and grow. Although he is young, he has the physical qualities to play in England, he has a good football education and it’s up to him how he reacts when he will arrive and compete in a totally different environment.
Which famous player would you say he is most like?
Not the most famous one, but because of his discipline, tactical role and defensive qualities, I would compare Băluță with another young player, West Ham United’s Declan Rice.
Tell us a bit about Viitorul. We know Hagi is their manager but not much else?
Hagi, Romania’s best ever player, struggled to find a place for himself in Romanian football after retirement, so he created one of his own. FC Viitorul (which roughly translates to ‘The Future’, as the club’s main philosophy is to grow and promote young Romanian talents) was founded by Hagi in his home county 10 years ago and two seasons ago, they lifted their first title. He invested his own money in building the academy’s facilities on a ground that used to be a corn field. A remarkable success for the former number 10 who is not only the club owner, but also first team manager.
Let’s talk quickly about Florin Andone. What’s the reaction in Romania been to his first months as a Brighton player?
We were all frustrated at the beginning of the season when Andone’s injury problems kept him away from the pitch, but once he started playing we knew the goals will come, knowing his fighting spirit which suits Premier League football. This week there was a major concern around Romanian football fans following the rumours about a potential move to Fenerbahce. We thought it would be a big step backwards for Andone and we were hoping it’s just fake news, which eventually all turned out to be.
Finally, with Andone and now Băluță both at Brighton, will we see lots of Romanians becoming Seagulls supporters?
The Premier League is quite popular in Romania and most of the people support a club from the big six. It’s probably too much to say that we will see Romanians becoming Seagulls supporters, but since Andone joined the club, there is a genuine interest in what Brighton are doing in the Premier League. Fellow fans are keeping a close eye on the Seagulls team news, results and the club’s development and although Glenn Murray is in good form, we are still upset when we don’t see Florin starting in the league!
Alexandru Avram is a Romanian football journalist who covers the Premier League for Tackle.ro. You can follow him on Twitter.
