Man United Targets Fifth Summer Signing with Baleba Deal Close
Manchester United step back into Premier League business on Saturday lunchtime at the MKM Stadium, but the real noise around the club still crackles around the transfer market.
Michael Carrick, now permanent in the Old Trafford dugout after steering United into the Champions League during his interim spell, could hand debuts to more than one new face against newly promoted Hull City. Youri Tielemans, signed from Aston Villa, and Andrey Santos, brought in from Chelsea, are both pushing hard to start in midfield.
And they might not be the last fresh options Carrick gets to work with before the window shuts.
Baleba first, then a left-back
United’s move for Carlos Baleba is edging towards completion, with only a few “loose ends” left to resolve on the deal. Once that is signed off, attention inside the club is expected to swing quickly to a new left-back – the planned fifth senior arrival of the summer.
Luke Shaw remains the undisputed first-choice in that role. But Champions League football brings a heavier schedule and a harsher spotlight. United know they cannot lean on one player across four competitions without a safety net, and they are planning accordingly.
- Lewis Hall, now at Newcastle after his Chelsea breakthrough, is one of the names firmly on the radar.
- Jorge Salinas has also been flagged internally.
- Alejandro Balde has been linked with a move to Old Trafford in recent days.
Newcastle’s stance on Hall is described as firm. Unless they soften, United may have to bide their time or move on. If that happens, one of the two Spaniards could quickly jump to the front of the queue.
Either way, the message is clear: once Baleba walks through the door, United want a left-back next.
Arsenal shut the door on Lewis-Skelly
One pursuit, though, has been shut down at source.
Myles Lewis-Skelly had been mentioned as a possible target, with suggestions that United or Chelsea could try to prise him away from Arsenal. Mikel Arteta has moved decisively to kill that talk.
The Arsenal manager insisted the England youth international will “100 per cent” still be at the Emirates Stadium when the window closes, a statement that effectively ends any realistic hope of an Old Trafford move this summer.
Arteta underlined how highly Arsenal value their own academy products, stressing the “love” and “connection with the club” that homegrown players bring and the need to “protect those assets as much as possible” and make them “extremely important for the club”.
For United, that’s a door slammed shut.
So Carrick heads into the opening weekend with two new midfielders ready, Baleba seemingly on the way, and a left-back hunt about to intensify. The squad is changing shape. The question now is how quickly it can harden into a team capable of living with the demands of the Champions League and a Premier League season that will not wait for anyone.
