Carlos Baleba: Manchester United's Renewed Interest in Midfielder

Carlos Baleba is back on Manchester United’s radar – and this time, it is the player’s camp doing the running.

According to Fabrizio Romano, representatives of the Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder have approached United to test whether last year’s collapsed move can be revived. The message from Baleba’s side is clear: he still wants Old Trafford.

United know this story well. Twelve months ago, Baleba was their priority midfield target. Personal terms were agreed, the path looked clear, and the 22-year-old was, in Romano’s words, “pushing like crazy” for the transfer. Then they hit the Brighton wall.

The Seagulls wanted £100million. United walked away.

The fallout was felt on the south coast. The weight of the saga told on Baleba, whose performances dipped in the early months of last season. One upside for United? That towering price has slipped. Brighton’s valuation is now understood to be closer to £70m.

United have already spent aggressively in midfield this summer, laying out around £85m on Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans. Yet the recruitment drive in the middle of the pitch is not finished. The club still want a third addition – a powerful, defensive-minded presence to tilt games in their favour.

That need has dragged Baleba’s name back into the conversation.

Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, outlined how the situation has turned. Last year’s pursuit, heavily linked to the then-targeted coach Ruben Amorim, went nowhere once Brighton refused to sell. Since January, when United and Amorim stopped talks over the managerial role, the Baleba track “went cold”.

Now it has warmed up again, but from a different direction.

Those close to Baleba have contacted United to “suggest the possibility” of returning to the table. They want to know if the club, having abandoned a move for Ederson and weighed up other options, see an opening to restart negotiations.

The desire from the player is not in doubt. Romano describes Baleba as “super keen” on the move. The question sits squarely with United’s hierarchy: do they still see him as the answer at the base of midfield, and at what price?

Baleba remains high on the recruitment team’s list, just as he was a year ago. Yet he is not alone there. United are casting a wide net across Europe’s midfield market.

• Manu Kone, now at Roma, has emerged as a serious candidate, with United understood to be making the most progress in talks for the Frenchman.
• Sander Berge at Fulham and Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga are also under active consideration, part of a cluster of profiles designed to stiffen the spine of the team.

Michael Carrick, shaping the squad in his image, would jump at the chance to bring in Aurelien Tchouameni, but the Madrid midfielder is set to sign a new contract at the Bernabeu. That reality has shifted attention more firmly towards his team-mate Camavinga, though prising him away from the European champions would be a huge ask.

Back in the Premier League, Alex Scott is another name admired at Old Trafford. Bournemouth, though, are determined to keep the gifted midfielder for at least one more season and are in no mood to sell.

So United stand at a familiar crossroads: multiple targets, one midfield slot, finite time. Baleba’s camp has made the first move. The player is waiting. The market is moving around him.

Now it is up to Manchester United to decide whether last summer’s nearly-man becomes this summer’s statement signing, or just another name that slipped away.