Brighton & Hove Albion have made two signings for their U23's in Romanian midfielder, Tudor-Cristian Baluta and Slovenian striker, Jan Mlakar both on three-and-a-half year deal from Maribor and FC Viitorul respectively.
Both players are talented
Both Mlakar and Baluta are very talented, have both represented their respective countries at U21 level and Baluta has even represented Romania at senior level.
However, both players will be loaned back to their FC Viitorul and Maribor for the rest of the season until the end of the season to aid their development and continue to get men’s senior football, which The Seagulls can not offer at the moment.
Mlakar has scored 10 goals in 20 games in all competitions for Maribor at the age of 20 and Baluta has scored two goals in 15 appearances this season.
Weir on both signings
Albion's pathway manager, David Weir had the following to say on Mlakar: “We’re delighted to welcome Jan to the football club. He’s shown potential during his time playing senior football across Europe, and he’s a great long-term addition to our club.
“Jan has a good amount of experience for a young player, and we feel it’s beneficial for his development to return to Maribor for the remainder of the season.
“He’ll continue to play first-team football at a high standard, and we’ll keep track of his progress through until the end of the season.”
Weir then had the following to say on Baluta: “We are delighted to welcome Tudor to the club - he is another signing who we’ve identified as being someone we can develop for the future.
“He’s a versatile player who can play both in central midfield and as part of a defence and has good experience in his country’s top division so far this season.
“He will spend the rest of this season back at FC Viitorul to continue his development and we will monitor his progress closely between now and the end of the campaign.”