Wayne Rooney Backs Carlos Baleba to Transform Manchester United Midfield
Wayne Rooney is convinced Carlos Baleba will transform Manchester United’s midfield – and he is having none of the talk that the Brighton man “went missing” after his Old Trafford move collapsed last season.
Baleba is set to join United from Brighton in a deal worth up to £70 million, becoming the club’s third midfield arrival of the summer after Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. United’s urgency in that area was laid bare on Saturday, when Tielemans and Santos both started a flat 2-0 defeat at newly promoted Hull.
On the Stick to United with Wayne Rooney podcast on Disney+, the club’s all-time leading scorer was emphatic about what the 22-year-old Cameroon midfielder will bring.
“I really like him, I think he's a really good signing,” Rooney said. “We need another midfield player with a bit of physicality and I know he's not six-foot-four or whatever but he covers the ground really well, he's aggressive, he takes the ball, and is what we need. He's a very good player who will improve the team massively.”
United have spent the summer ripping up and rebuilding the centre of the pitch. Casemiro, once the anchor of the side, has gone. Manuel Ugarte, brought in to add bite and security, has suffered a serious knee injury. The plan has had to be rewritten on the fly.
Baleba had already been on United’s radar. Last season, Brighton were reported to have slapped a £100m price tag on him as interest from Old Trafford grew. The move never materialised and his campaign on the south coast stalled: just 23 Premier League starts, no goals, and plenty of noise that his head had been turned.
Rooney does not buy the idea that the midfielder downed tools.
“I don't think he went missing,” he said. “The chance doesn't come around that often to play for Manchester United, so you don't know what effect that has.
“There's no denying his ability as a player. I think he is a top player.”
The competition he walks into will be fierce. Tielemans, Santos and Kobbie Mainoo are all fighting for minutes, and Rooney believes that is exactly how it should be at a club of United’s stature.
“It will be interesting with Tielemans, Santos and Mainoo but this is what it should be. Competition for places. If you don't play well, you don't play.”
United now look to Baleba not just as another signing, but as a key piece in a rapidly reconstructed midfield. If Rooney is right, the player who once saw his dream move slip away may yet become central to United’s next version of themselves.
