Manchester United have been in hot pursuit of one more Premier League star man to put the puzzle into place for new manager Ruben Amorim, who could not immediately turn around a dysfunctional side, as he himself predicted.
The Red Devils stumbled to a bottom-half finish last season, but with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko joining a new-look attack, there is hope that the men at Old Trafford will be on the rise again in 2025/26.
However, Manchester United still need more midfield steel. Casemiro is aging, Mason Mount cannot be relied upon, Bruno Fernandes needs more help, Kobbie Mainoo is still learning to be consistent, and Manuel Ugarte has had trouble adjusting to the Premier League.
Brighton’s 21-year-old rising star Carlos Baleba was one of the biggest breakout stars and overall midfielders in the Premier League last season, so Manchester United were all over him as a possible transfer target.
Manchester United are giving up on Premier League midfielder
They were prepared to make a record bid to try and sign Baleba from Brighton, but it appears that Manchester United have changed their course and given up entirely.
According to a report from Alex Crook and Alex Conrad of talkSPORT, Manchester United, after trying to sign the player, are now ready to accept that Brighton have no intention of selling Carlos Baleba to them or anyone else this summer.
However, Manchester United will still try to sign Baleba in the future and still want to sign Baleba now. It’s just that they will most likely not formally submit a tranfer offer to the Seagulls in 2025, unless if they were to get some indication from the selling club that a deal would be possible.
It seems like Manchester United have been told the price is too onerous, or that Brighton want to wait until 2026 when they would be better able to replace Baleba, given Brighton are a consistent threat to qualify for European football these days.
Baleba is rated over 100 million pounds, so whenever Brighton are ready to sell, Man United know they have to be prepared to break a transfer record like Chelsea did with Moises Caicedo in order to sign the burgeoning defensive midfield talent.
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.