Carlos Baleba posted about Old Trafford on his Instagram story hours before Manchester United host Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League on Saturday
Matthew Abbott US Sports Writer and Will Schofield Senior Sports Reporter
15:39, 25 Oct 2025
Carlos Baleba of Brighton & Hove Albion during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Tottenham Hotspur at Amex Stadium on September 20, 2025 in Brighton, England.
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Carlos Baleba was linked with Man Utd over the summer
Carlos Baleba shared a post about "coming to Old Trafford" just hours before Manchester United welcomed Brighton and Hove Albion, though the message was swiftly deleted.
United face Brighton two months after attempting to secure Baleba's services during the summer transfer window. The midfielder was eager to make the switch, but a deal proved too complex to complete before the deadline.
Brighton valued Baleba at approximately £100million and have tied him down until the end of the 2027/28 campaign.
Nevertheless, the player seems unlikely to remain at the club long-term, and United may rekindle their pursuit next year, either in January or during the upcoming summer window.
This fixture was always set to fuel speculation surrounding Baleba, and his Instagram activity on Saturday morning did little to dampen the rumours.
Carlos Baleba
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Carlos Baleba shared the post on his Instagram story
Hours before kick-off, a typical matchday graphic on his story featured the caption "Coming to Old Trafford," accompanied by a face with tears of joy emoji.
The image was taken down within minutes and republished without the caption. Yet screenshots of the original post continue to spread across social media platforms, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler discussed Baleba extensively during his pre-match press briefing. "It's also the next step for him as a person, for him as a personality, to overcome these rumours, to overcome this noise," Hurzeler remarked.
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"Because, in the end, it's, it's only noise that tries to distract him from performing for us, for Brighton. He really has to focus on the things he can influence, and he can't influence the rumours; he can't influence the noise around him.
"He can only influence the things he's doing on the pitch, how he asks for the ball, how he's positioned when he receives the ball, how good his angles are.
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"How much effort he shows against the ball, how intense he can be against the ball. That's the main thing he needs to focus on; the rest is just noise."