Manchester United close in on £60m Carlos Baleba deal to complete midfield rebuild

Manchester United are closing in on a deal to sign Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, with the club having submitted a £60m bid — plus £5m in add-ons — for the 22-year-old Cameroonian, according to The Athletic. The offer is expected to fall short of Brighton’s valuation, though talks between the two clubs remain amicable and an agreement is anticipated.

The move would make Baleba United’s third midfield signing of the summer under manager Michael Carrick. The Red Devils have already brought in Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos from Chelsea, with both arrivals coming in response to the departure of Casemiro at the end of his contract.

United are understood to have been tracking Baleba for over a year, having also registered interest in him last summer. Brighton chairman Tony Bloom addressed that earlier pursuit at the time, saying: “There was interest from Manchester United, and we said that he wasn’t available this summer and they went away. Carlos Baleba — his improvement has been immense. He’s a massively important player to this football club, and just delighted that he’s with us for this season.”

Bloom also acknowledged the broader reality facing clubs outside the elite tier when it comes to retaining their best players. “The best players, unless you’re potentially Man City, Liverpool, Madrid, PSG, almost every club’s best players do get sold,” he said. “It’s up to us to make sure that we are prepared as much as we can.”

Baleba joined Brighton from French club Lille three years ago and has developed into one of the Premier League’s most highly regarded central midfielders, making 112 appearances for the Seagulls.

United had also agreed terms with Atlanta for Brazilian midfielder Ederson earlier in the window, but pulled out of that deal over concerns regarding his knee. Baleba would therefore fill the final gap in Carrick’s midfield rebuild ahead of the new season.

The 2026 summer transfer window remains open for just under two weeks, with United set to open their Premier League campaign against newly-promoted Hull City away from home this weekend.