Man Utd set to sign Premier League star after shock £65m offer

Manchester United are reportedly on the cusp of signing Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.

Baleba has established himself as one of the most sought-after midfielders in Premier League football across an impressive three-season spell at the Amex Stadium and has been on United’s radar for well over a year.

It was uncertain if the Red Devils would step up their efforts to further strengthen in midfield after securing the signings of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively.

United had appeared on the verge of a total agreement to land Atalanta midfielder Ederson last month, but the Brazilian’s proposed switch to Old Trafford broke down at the eleventh hour.

Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes were also identified as potential targets, only for the trio to choose moves elsewhere in the Premier League, namely Manchester City and Tottenham.

But according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, United chiefs have made a breakthrough and are fast ‘closing in’ on Baleba to become their third addition in central midfield following Casemiro’s departure at the start of the window.

It’s claimed United have submitted an initial bid in the region of £60million plus £5m in add-ons for the 22-year-old Cameroon international.

While Brighton are reluctant to sell at that price as things stand, the report states that discussions remain ‘amicable’, with all parties eager to find a resolution.

Baleba is currently sidelined with an ankle problem which he sustained in pre-season with the Seagulls.

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The injury is not believed to be overly serious, though, and there are hopes the Cameroonian will return to action before the end of September.

Baleba has made 112 appearances in all competitions for Brighton since arriving in English football from Lille back in 2023, chipping in with four goals and two assists in that time.

Coincidently, Baleba’s last competitive appearance for Brighton came in the side’s 3-0 defeat to United back in late May.

Baleba came off the substitutes bench that day and was unable to stop the rot as Patrick Dorgu, Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes were all on target against Fabian Hurzeler’s men.

Over the winter, Baleba missed a total of six matches with Brighton after being called up by Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations, in which he made five appearances.

His current contract on the south coast is not due to expire until June 2028.

Speaking ahead of Cameroon’s AFCON campaign in December, Baleba dismissed claims that persistent rumours over his future had negatively impacted his game.

‘I don’t think it affected me. But I had a lot of pressure on me,’ he said.

‘When I started the season, I wanted to [have] the same performances as last season. Every day I try to work hard and to get [back] to my level.

With the clock ticking down on the summer transfer window, Michael Carrick has made no secret of the fact he would keen for more reinforcements to bolster his squad for the year ahead.

‘We want more, we need more, we keep looking for how we can do that,’ United’s new permanent head coach told the BBC last week.

‘Money’s money, I get that. We feel like we have to be pushing for everything we’re involved in, while being realistic of what the recent history’s looked like over a period of time.

‘For now, we’ve got to make the most of it, but we’ve got to push every boundary we can to be able to win again, basically.

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