Manchester United considered a move for the Premier League star this yearplaceholder image
Manchester United considered a move for the Premier League star this year | Manchester United via Getty Images
Man Utd looked to add the Premier League star to their squad in the summer transfer window.
United considered adding a midfielder to their squad over the summer and made initial enquiries to gauge the possibility of a move for the 21-year-old. Brighton made it clear they had no intention to sell Baleba this year and informed United it would require a club-record bid in the region of £115 million for them to even entertain the possibility.
Ruben Amorim is an admirer of the Cameroon international, though his price tag was deemed too high in a summer when an attacking overhaul was the real priority. In the end, United spent roughly £200m on a new attacking line that consisted of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.
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United will prioritise midfield signings next summer, with Baleba expected to feature on their wish list alongside the likes of Crystal Palace ace Adam Wharton and Nottingham Forest talisman Elliot Anderson.
Bloom confirms United interest in Baleba
Manchester United could revisit a move for Carlos Baleba next year, though Brighton chairman Tony Bloom has hinted it would take a lot for them to sign such a 'massively important' player.
"I don't think Baleba was a saga," Bloom told The Argus. "There was interest from Manchester United, and we said that he wasn't available this summer and they went away. So we've had many bigger sagas in the past. But Carlos Baleba, his improvement has been immense. Massively important player to this football club, and just delighted that he's with us for this season."
When quizzed on the transfer interest shown in star forward Kaoru Mitoma, Bloom insisted he was happy at the club, but admitted they always try to plan for losing any key player.
He added: "There was some interest more in January. But Kaoru is absolutely committed to the football club. Another key player for us, he has done sensationally well. Again, delighted that he's part of our squad because we know that occasionally some of our best players will be sold. But, when that happens, we don't want too many at any one time.
“And then we always try and make sure that the players coming in, maybe players we've brought in previous seasons, can help with that situation.
“But that's true of almost every club. The best players, unless you're potentially Man City, Liverpool, Madrid, PSG, almost every club's best players do get sold. And it's up to us to make sure that we are prepared as much as we can. We can't always get the timing right, but we are as prepared as much as we can be to make sure that, at the start of every season, we have a really, really competitive squad.”
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