Brighton Hove Albion of England defender, Leon Aderemi Balogun has received words of praise from his central defence partner, Shane Duffy, who said he is surprised with how the summer signing has settled in with The Seagulls.
After seeing Balogun excel off the ebnch in last weekend’s victory against Manchester United, Duffy said the former SV Mainz 05 of Germany stopper truly surprised him with his adaptability.
Balogun, who has also previously played for Fortuna Dusseldorf and Darmstadt, is fresh from equally formidable outings with the Super Eagles at the World Cup, and once again stood solid in the heart of Brighton’s defence to help his new club pull off a shock 3-2 win.
In the wake of Saturday’s victory, Duffy has now rained accolades on the Germany-born defender, who was introduced as a replacement for Lewis Dunk twenty minutes into the game and ended up with immense understanding potentials in central defence.
Duffy, who scored Brighton’s second goal of the evening, said Balogun has shown that he is a player who will improve their squad, judging by how quick he has settled down to the demands of the English Premier League following his arrival this summer from Mainz.
“He was great. That’s another plus for us, that strength in depth with top players. He’s fitted straight in. He’s a big character in the changing room. He’s got a big voice.
“He’s played with big players in big games. That’s why you bring in players like that. They push us.
“You pick up injuries and suspensions so you need these kind of players to step in,” a very excited Duffy submitted.
However, Balogun blamed himself for the first goal conceded by Brighton against The Red Devils, as he admits he made a mistake in his marking of Romelu Lukaku, who halved the deficit when he scored with a free header in the 34th minute after he was left unmarked by The Seagulls’ new defender.
”In the first goal Romelu Lukaku was my man and I didn’t pick him up during the second phase of play – the ball got deflected and I didn’t anticipate.
”The biggest thing was adapting to the style of play within the side, because I came in late after the World Cup. These are the challenges that I still have to get used to.
”But the team made it quite easy and we talked a lot in defence and that helped me settle in quite fast – it’s normal that it might take a while,” Balogun expatiated.
