Carlos Baleba with Man Utd badge
Manchester United have decided whether they will move for Brighton & Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba this summer, Fabrizio Romano has revealed.
Man Utd identified Baleba as a prime midfield target last summer, agreeing personal terms with the 22-year-old before opening talks with Brighton about a possible transfer. However, the move quickly stalled as United were put off by Brighton’s huge £100million demands.
This left Baleba disappointed as he wanted to make the switch to Old Trafford to take the next step in his career.
Baleba’s form resultantly dipped last season, prompting Brighton to drop his price tag to £70m. Despite this, he remains a very exciting young defensive midfielder with elite potential.
United have signed Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans so far this summer, and Baleba is on their radar as a third potential addition to Michael Carrick’s midfield ranks.
Indeed, Sky Sports reported on July 23 that United had made ‘movement’ towards revisiting a deal for Baleba.
However, the potential transfer has now been called off after the player suffered an ankle ligament injury in training, which will rule him out for several weeks.
On his YouTube channel, Romano said: “More to say about Manchester United. Injury for Carlos Baleba is making things more complicated.
“So Manchester United, at the moment, are not proceeding with the Carlos Baleba deal.
“The injury is not six or seven months, so it’s not a super long one, but it’s still an injury.
“At the moment, for Manchester United, this could be eventually an issue, a problem, for the Carlos Baleba deal.
“So we have to consider that [transfer] as more complicated.
Carlos Baleba ‘pushing like crazy’ to join Man Utd – Romano
“The player has been pushing like crazy, summer 2025, and again this summer, 2026, to go to Manchester United.
“But now this injury is obviously not helping. Let’s see what Man Utd will decide on Baleba and on the other candidates for midfield.”
United have already missed out on the likes of Alex Scott, Aurelien Tchouameni, Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes this summer.
There have recently been suggestions the Red Devils might end their pursuit of a third midfielder in order to prioritise the capture of a new left-back.
But if United do decide to focus on that third midfield addition, then possible solutions include Fulham’s Sander Berge, Manu Kone of Roma and Bournemouth star Tyler Adams.
Meanwhile, United have reportedly been offered a superstar left winger.
Enzo Maresca, Rodri, Manchester City
Enzo Maresca, Rodri, Manchester City