\n<\/p>\n
The Seagulls ended their pre-season unbeaten run with a 2-1 victory over Wolfsburg on Saturday, with Maxim de Cuyper, a 24-year-old Belgian defender signed for a reported \u00a317.5m<\/a>, scoring his first goal for the club. <\/p>\n Baleba was absent as he continues to recover from a knee injury sustained in June, but is expected to be back for the opener against Marco Silva’s Fulham. <\/p>\n Brighton chairman Paul Barber said during a fan forum he hopes Baleba, who has three years left on his contract at Amex Stadium, stays “for years to come”<\/a> – but could not make any promises. <\/p>\n Hurzeler, meanwhile, did not speak about Baleba’s situation when appearing on the Monday Night Club. <\/p>\n “It’s not easy, but we proved last season that we are a very competitive team,” he said about whether he feels frustrated when players are linked with rival clubs. <\/p>\n “Without Joao Pedro, for sure, he was an unbelievable player. But we can’t replace him with one player, but we can replace him as a team. And that’s our focus.” <\/p>\n