Man United are planning to be active in the market in the final two weeks of the summer transfer window.
Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.(Image: 2025 Sebastian Frej)
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Michael Carrick was coy when asked about Manchester United's interest in Brighton midfield Carlos Baleba, but he did admit the recruitment team are "looking to strengthen the squad".
United have reignited their interest in Baleba this summer. The Reds have submitted a bid of around £60million, plus £5m in add-ons, to sign the midfielder, who has remained keen on joining the club,
It's understood there is still some work to do to agree a deal with Brighton for the Cameroon international, but there is a growing expectation that Baleba will be United's third midfield signing of the transfer window.
Baleba's form dipped last season, leading Brighton's manager Fabian Hurzeler to suggest that transfer reports had affected him, but United's recruitment team haven't been put off by his displays in 2025/26.
Carrick spoke to the media at Carrington on Thursday afternoon and was asked about United's talks over Baleba, and whether a left-back signing was possible before the transfer deadline on September 1.
"I just think we're looking to strengthen the squad," he said. "We're certainly working towards that, making the most of the situation that we have and trying to improve things and trying to move forward.
"You know, I said the same thing to you last time. So yeah, certainly trying to make the most of the opportunities to finish the window stronger than we went into it. And I think we're in a good way to doing that so far."
Baleba recently suffered an ankle injury. The issue is not thought to be serious, but he is expected to be ruled out for a few more weeks, meaning he would not be immediately available to play for United.
The Reds' opponents on the opening day, Hull City, have been busy in the transfer window following their promotion to the Premier League, signing 11 players in an attempt to maintain their top-flight status.
"Well, that's the beauty of the new season, you know," Carrick said of Hull's new-look team. "I think certainly for teams coming up in the league, for the most part, there tends to be quite a few changes within the group, the playing group. So it's always the challenge when you're playing against them.
"There's that freshness, there's that buzz around the football club of coming into the Premier League and what that brings. So again, we're fully aware of that. We'll be prepared, obviously, mentally and physically.
"We've done a lot of work anyway, but mentally we'll be prepared. We know what the game's going to bring and how good we need to be to get the right result."
Carrick did not rule out a charge for the Premier League title this season. "It's going to be a jump. I mean, whatever I say doesn't really matter, you know, whether I say we can or we can't," he said.
"Oh, I would never say we can't, by the way, I don't believe that. But whatever I say is about what we do, you know, and what we can do, what we're capable of doing, what we believe we can do as a group.
"I think the run of form that we had last season gives us a lot of confidence, but then we know there's a whole new step to make as a group. We're pushing to do that. You know, it's exciting.
"I think we've got the potential to achieve things and we're definitely giving everything that we can. And we've got to believe that we're a good team and we can do good things."