Manchester United have one player in mind as the ideal signing for 2026, as Ruben Amorim has his dream target in mind.
This season hasn’t been ideal for Manchester United, but sixth at Christmas is a position most would have taken before the season began.
For this reason, the improvements are clear to see, and Ruben Amorim looks like he will be at the club for the foreseeable future, meaning it makes sense that he would get his dream signing next summer.
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Manager Ruben Amorim arrives ahead of the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park in 2025 in London, England.
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United have a long list of players already being set up as targets for 2026, but Fabrizio Romano has now declared the one top target.
Manchester United target Carlos Baleba playing for Brighton.
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Fabrizio Romano states who Manchester United’s number one target is in 2026
United look set to overhaul the midfield in 2026, with the three top contenders thought to be Premier League trio Adam Wharton, Carlos Baleba and Elliot Anderson.
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Adam Wharton playing against Albania for England.
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Romano appeared on the Men In Blazers podcast for a transfers special and discussed United’s plans for 2026, particularly labelling Baleba as priority number one.
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“Look, if there’s a player Manchester United put on top, top, top of their list, for sure it’s Carlos Baleba. Baleba is a player they absolutely love.
“Anderson and Wharton are on the list… but Baleba has always been seen as the top target for Ruben Amorim.”
Baleba was United’s top midfield target in 2025, and Romano’s comments tell us that come summer 2026, we might all be saying ‘I’m a Baleba’ again.
Carlos Baleba has work to do in order to earn Manchester United move
While Baleba is number one right now, this might not last.
Baleba has had a horrendous season for Brighton, which should see Anderson increasingly looking favourable.
It is thought that the pressure of United links got to Baleba, which doesn’t fill us with any confidence that he would manage to cope with playing for the Red Devils.
If Baleba doesn’t rediscover his quality and form in the new year, it would be tough to imagine that United would risk spending massive amounts of money on signing him with such an asterisk over his name.
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