Manchester United's move for Carlos Baleba is off after club-to-club talks.
The Red Devils have been pursuing a move for the Brighton midfielder for the past couple of weeks, with the 21-year-old seemingly becoming their priority target.
Talks initially took place with Brighton via intermediaries on behalf of United before direct conversations happened between the clubs.
Brighton made it clear they do not intend to sell Baleba, and slapped a price tag in the region of £100million on the midfielder.
The Seagulls indicated they wanted any fee for Baleba to be around the £115m Chelsea spent on Moises Caicedo, which is ultimately beyond what United are willing to pay this summer.
Meaning, according to The Athletic, a deal for Baleba will not materialise.
Baleba is keen on a move to Old Trafford, with personal terms understood to be no problem, but there is no suggestion he is unhappy at Brighton, with United respecting their stance.
United have already spent close to £200m on the signings of forward Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko. Club chiefs are happy with their incoming business so far, but they want to be financially disciplined with plenty more work to do on departures.
So far this summer, Marcus Rashford is the only significant exit from Old Trafford this summer, with the England international joining Barcelona on a season-long loan with an option to buy.
Meanwhile, bomb squad members Jadon Sancho, Alejandro Garnacho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia are all yet to find an exit. Although there has been significant progress in Sancho's departure after United reportedly approved of a £20m bid from Roma.
More to follow...
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