Manchester United will not be going for a move for Brighton and Hove Albion star Carlos Baleba this summer, according to reports – with the Red Devils believing a fee is too high for the sought-after Premier League youngster.
The Red Devils have already spent just under £200million on a new-look attacking trio in the form of Brentford star Bryan Mbeumo, Wolverhampton Wanderers fan favourite Matheus Cunha and a sensational move for RB Leipzig prodigy Benjamin Sesko, with manager Ruben Amorim clearly not fancying his forward line from last season having only outscored Everton and the three relegated sides in the division.
Ornstein: Man Utd ‘Not Planning’ to Make Baleba Move After Talks
However, having sorted out their goalscoring issues, attention has turned to midfield, with reports that the club’s recruitment staff were eyeing a move for the former Lille star after his excellent performances on the south coast under Fabian Hürzeler.
But bad news has hit the Old Trafford faithful, as a Friday evening report by David Ornstein on X (formerly Twitter) stated that United now aren’t planning to proceed with a deal for Baleba this summer, despite indirect and direct contact between the two clubs.
Brighton’s hardball stance has shown that he is clearly not for sale, and the fee it would take United to consider them to budge is too high for the club to splash out on, having already spent close to £200million this summer. The 21-year-old is keen on a move nonetheless, though he’s not unhappy at Brighton, and so a deal has come to a standstill for the time being.
It’s worth noting that Brighton sold Moises Caicedo to Chelsea for £115million two years ago, playing in the exact same position and role as Baleba – and with both players being 21 years old at the time, it’s unlikely that the Seagulls will budge on their valuation when another Premier League giant paid up not long ago, and in what continues to be an inflated market.
Baleba made 34 appearances for Brighton last season in the Premier League, scoring three goals in the top-flight as they came eighth in the table – only robbed of a Europa Conference League place by rivals Crystal Palace, who bypassed them into continental reckoning by winning the FA Cup final in May against Manchester City.
Amorim would likely have utilised Baleba alongside Bruno Fernandes over the course of next season, with his enforcer-type nature allowing the new-look attacking trio, Amad Diallo and the Portuguese star, to make United a force of nature going forward, but that deal now won’t go ahead.
Sign up to The GIVEMESPORT Report to get exclusive daily updates from Fabrizio Romano, Ben Jacobs, Dean Jones and Tom Bogert sent straight to your inbox.
About Author
