Carlos Baleba is the next name to attract Man United fans' attention as he is very close to Old Trafford with a contract worth 60 million pounds, possibly adding 5 million pounds in extra fees.
Negotiations between the two sides are going very positively as both Man United and Brighton are showing willingness, not wanting things to go into a dead end like the summer of 2025. Currently, the 22-year-old star is suffering from an ankle ligament injury. However, this is a minor injury and Baleba is expected to return in the first few weeks of the season.
After missing the Ederson deal from Atalanta at the last minute, Man United is determined to invest more strongly in midfield. Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa) and Andrey Santos (Chelsea) have arrived, but that still does not reassure Michael Carrick. Once Carlos Baleba is in, the midfield of the "Red Devils" will be extremely crowded, with enough force to conquer 4 arenas next season.
Returning to the summer transfer drama of 2025 when it seemed that Man United had acquired Baleba even though at that time Brighton quoted this midfielder for more than 100 million pounds. Man United once offered a price of 75 million pounds but was still rejected by the Amex club. In the end, the deal failed because the "Red Devils" were determined not to spend such a risk. Luckily for them, last season Baleba did not play as well as expected in Brighton's colors. Plus the injury he is suffering, the Cameroonian midfielder is no longer given a too high price.
By April, there was still a lot of information about Carlos Baleba coming to Man United, but it was all just rumors. However, at that time, The Athletic said that Baleba's overall performance in 2 seasons for Brighton was still impressive, so he did not lose so much value that no team paid attention in the summer of 2026. All indicators for Baleba's deep midfield position are still stable, enough to help him reach a new destination larger than Amex.
In the AFCON 2026 earlier this year, Man United followed Baleba very closely, especially when Bryan Mbeumo was also in the Cameroon national team squad. The "Red Devils" scouting team was quite impressed with Baleba's stats in 5 matches at AFCON, especially in terms of field coverage, ball contest and passing.
Not only that, with being left-footed and tending to play defensively, Baleba can be trained to become a left-back with the task of rotating for Luke Shaw when needed. This is also the position Man United is lacking when Patrick Dorgu is assigned to play higher in the attacking role.
Last season, Baleba was substituted in 15 Premier League matches, including 4 times right after the end of the first half. It can be seen that the interest from Man United last summer distracted the midfielder's mind, partly affecting his performance at Brighton. In addition, he also faced some minor injuries. However, when playing for the Cameroon national team, the 22-year-old star regained his confidence. The staff at Brighton always supported him throughout this process, which is great luck for Baleba.
Last season in the Premier League, Baleba only had 3 full 90 minutes, but one of them was the 3-0 victory over Chelsea. That was a match he played very well, stealing the ball in the penalty area from goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to create a good opportunity for Jack Hinshelwood. After that, this young star was scheduled to start in the next 3 matches and came on as a substitute in the match against Man United in the final round. That was also like Brighton's direct pitch for Man United, creating a premise for this negotiation.
In the summer of 2025, when Baleba's value is at a very high level after 2 seasons of playing well, Man United is willing to spend 75 million pounds, but Brighton demands more than 100 million pounds. Now, Man United is preparing to reach an agreement with a fee much lower than that number. If Brighton still has a "high branch", it is very difficult for them to sell Baleba to another team at a better price than Man United!
