new signing, contract signing, sports personality, transfer news, Brighton & Hove Albion, American Express Elite Football Performance Centre season 2023/24; Carlos Baleba Signing
Liverpool and Arsenal have reportedly joined Manchester United in the race to sign Brighton and Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba, as per Caught Offside.
The Seagulls have continued to produce top-class talents in recent years. Moisés Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister, Yves Bissouma, Ben White, João Pedro, and Marc Cucurella all flourished in their career at AMEX Stadium before leaving for big money.
Now, Baleba has started attracting a lot of attention, having displayed impressive performances in the Premier League last campaign.
After reinforcing the frontline, Man Utd are planning to bolster the midfield department before the end of this window and have identified Baleba as a dream target. They have even held talks with the player’s representatives over this deal.
However, Caught Offside claim that purchasing the Cameroonian won’t be straightforward for United as Brighton have no intention of letting their star man leave with his existing deal set to run until 2028.
They could change their stance should they receive an offer of at least £52m, but the valuation is significantly lower than what other outlets are stating.
Battle
Not only the Brighton obstacle, Man Utd will have to overcome stiff competition from Liverpool and Arsenal to seal the deal, as they are also plotting a swoop for him.
Furthermore, Chelsea, Manchester City, Newcastle United, and Tottenham Hotspur are closely monitoring his situation before making a potential swoop. The player would be open to leaving Brighton to take the next step in his career.
Man Utd need a dynamic midfielder like him as they lack athleticism in this department. However, the Gunners have recently revamped the engine room by purchasing Martin Zubimendi and Christian Norgaard, so it would be a surprise to see if they go for another midfielder when they need to upgrade the left flank.
On the other hand, Liverpool lack depth in the midfield department, but they have already spent around £270m this summer and are ready to break the club’s transfer record to sign Alexander Isak. Therefore, it might be difficult for them to spend big on a new midfielder.
It is going to be interesting to see whether the 21-year-old eventually leaves Brighton before the September 1st transfer deadline.