Man Utd blow as Liverpool and Tottenham enter £100m transfer raceplaceholder image
Man Utd blow as Liverpool and Tottenham enter £100m transfer race | Getty Images
Liverpool are looking at signing a player who has been on Manchester United's radar with Tottenham also linked
Liverpool have reportedly joined the race for Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder and Manchester United target Carlos Baleba, along with Tottenham Hotspur.
The Red Devils pursued a deal for Baleba in the summer but Brighton wanted more than £100m for the midfielder, who they feel can become as good as Chelsea star Moises Caicedo.
Caicedo joined Chelsea for £115m in 2023 and the Seagulls feel Baleba is worth a similar amount. Liverpool themselves had agreed a £115m deal with Brighton to sign Caicedo but the Ecuadorian held out for Chelsea’s bid before moving to Stamford Bridge two-and-a-half years ago.
It has been reported by Fabrizio Romano that Baleba would ‘love’ to join United and that the Old Trafford club has kept in contact with him after being unable to get a deal done in the summer.
Romano said on his YouTube channel: "Man United remain in contact with the player. It's not a secret since August, I've been telling you, that Carlos Baleba would love to move to Man United.
"Man United are on it. Baleba remains one of the main names on their shortlist. But in terms of making a deal happen in the January transfer window, from Brighton the message is very clear - they want to keep hold of Baleba in January. So I think the only way to make a deal happen in January would be a very big, crazy proposal."
Caught Offside have reported that Liverpool could be ready to hand their Premier League rivals a major transfer blow as they are now interested in Baleba - along with Spurs and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
Some initial enquiries have come in for Baleba but Brighton do not want to sell him in the summer. It is not specified which clubs have enquired about the midfielder but speaking to the Seagulls website, Brighton and Hove Albion chief executive and deputy chair Paul Barber has said there has been no contact from Manchester United about a January move for the midfielder.
He told the club website: “[We’ve had] no call from Old Trafford, no call from anyone connected to Manchester United. We have no plans or desire to sell Carlos Baleba in this window or any future window.
“We know he’s a talented player and I am sure he’s got a lot of options ahead of him in the future. For us he’s an important player in the second half of the season and we’re looking forward to having back from AFCON.”
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