Manchester United's Pursuit of Carlos Baleba: A Transfer Dilemma
Manchester United hold the keys to a transfer one player has been pushing for, yet the door remains firmly shut – for now.
Pre-season is already gathering pace at Old Trafford. A 5-0 dismantling of Rosenborg on Friday night followed an earlier run-out, and Michael Carrick’s squad is beginning to take shape. Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos are through the door, the spine of the team slowly being rebuilt. Work continues on a new midfielder, a left-back and potentially a forward, with the attacking move likely hinging on an outgoing.
But for all the moving parts, one area screams for resolution: the pivot.
Casemiro’s departure has ripped out United’s most experienced holding presence. In the modern game, the single pivot is non-negotiable for any side with ambitions of controlling big matches. United know it. Their recruitment reflects it. And somewhere on the south coast, one player is still waiting for them to act.
Baleba: the dream that never quite started
Carlos Baleba has hovered around United’s plans for a year without ever getting close enough to touch the shirt.
During the January window, the Brighton midfielder sat near the top of United’s shortlist. The interest, though, actually stretches back to last summer. According to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, Baleba “was pushing like crazy to go to Man United” in August and had agreed personal terms. The move was there for him. The dream was clear.
Brighton shut it down.
The Seagulls simply refused to sell, and United walked away. At that point, Baleba was a “top target” under the club’s previous Amorim-led direction. When that chapter closed in January and United and Amorim went their separate ways, so did the intensity of the Baleba pursuit. The trail went cold.
Now, his name is back in circulation. Not because United have launched a new offensive, but because the player’s camp has quietly reopened the line.
Romano reports that people close to Baleba have contacted United again, sounding out whether there is any appetite to return for the 22-year-old. With an Ederson deal off the table and other midfield options stalling, Baleba’s side wants clarity: is there a way back to the negotiating table, or is this just another false dawn?
At this stage, the fee remains a major unknown. What is clear is that Brighton will not let him go cheaply. Any serious bid would have to land north of £70 million.
A ‘monster’ in waiting
The price bracket tells its own story. So do the voices around him.
Baleba has already shown he can live with the Premier League’s pace and physicality, despite his age. Those who have watched him closely see something more than just a promising destroyer.
Former Premier League midfielder Charlie Adam nailed the mood last year when he admitted he was “a big fan of Carlos Baleba at Brighton.” He highlighted Baleba and Yasin Ayari as standouts in Brighton’s win at Old Trafford, a result that underlined just how far United’s midfield had slipped. Adam called Baleba “a very good player” and “something that’s different from what’s been in the Premier League.”
Roberto De Zerbi, who helped shape Baleba’s early Premier League steps before moving to Tottenham, went even further. “I believe in Carlos,” he said. “He can become one of the best players in the Premier League in the future, for sure.”
Inside Brighton, they see a “world-class” profile in embryo. Physically imposing, aggressive, with the range to break up play and surge forward, he fits the “monster” tag often attached to him. For United, still searching for a long-term anchor who can both protect and progress, the fit is obvious.
United’s dilemma
And yet, United hesitate.
Carrick and the recruitment team are being deliberate with their final midfield signing of the summer. This is the piece that will define how they build the team around it. Get it wrong and the structure collapses again. Get it right and the Casemiro era becomes a bridge, not a crutch.
Baleba is there, willing, waiting. Personal terms were never the issue. The player’s camp has effectively given United a free run at the idea, asking the question first: are you coming back?
So far, the answer has been silence.
United’s summer is already busy, the strategy clear: younger legs, higher ceilings, a more aggressive, modern core. Baleba ticks every box, apart from the one that matters most to Brighton – the size of the cheque.
The next move belongs to Old Trafford. Does Carrick push for the powerful, Premier League-hardened option who once had his heart set on the club, or does United’s new era look elsewhere for its midfield cornerstone?
