Manchester United have been making midfield splashes on the transfer market in successive transfer windows. Three years ago, they brought in Casemiro, who has helped the team but is staring down a road to retirement.
Two years ago, they snagged Mason Mount from Chelsea, and he’s had even more difficulty staying healthy and making an impact. Then last summer, they brought in one of the world’s most promising defensive midfielders in PSG standout Manuel Ugarte, and even he has disappointed Red Devils fans.
So now, Manchester United are on the market for someone different in the defensive midfield to pair with their current options like Ugarte and homegrown star Kobbie Mainoo.
They have found their new dream transfer target in Brighton star Carlos Baleba, who is both young and proven in the Premier League, whereas the other options were either older or unknown commodities in the English top flight.
Manchester United want to upgrade their midfield
According to a report from Graeme Bailey for United in Focus, Manchester United are prepared to make a statement on the transfer market and see how serious Brighton are about keeping Baleba by offering a record-breaking transfer fee over 100 million pounds.
Baleba is one of the best young midfielders in the Premier League, and the 21-year-old was honestly one of the best in the league last season statistically regardless of age with 3.7 combined tackles and interceptions and 2.4 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game.
Manchester United are missing this sort of box-to-box defensive and ball-carrying machine, especially since their midfield was so often outright dominated in the 2024/25 season, en route to a finish in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
The Red Devils revamped their attack this summer at every single forward position with Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo coming over as established stars in the league while new No. 9 Benjamin Sesko has the goal-scoring traits that Joshua Zirkzee and the likely outgoing Rasmus Hojlund do not.
Now, Manchester United need another midfield standout to put it all together, and there’s nobody better to buy on the market as an ascending star than Baleba. But we’ll see if Brighton can be convinced to part ways with their biggest asset so soon.
Joe Soriano is the editor of The Trivela Effect and a FanSided Hall of Famer who has covered world football since 2011. He’s led top digital communities like The Real Champs (Real Madrid) and has contributed to sites covering Tottenham, Liverpool, Juventus, and Schalke. Joe’s work has appeared in ESPN, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated. He also helped manage NFL Spin Zone and Daily DDT, covering the NFL and pro wrestling, respectively.