Manchester United submit £65m Baleba bid and eye surprise left-back signing before deadline

Manchester United have submitted a bid of approximately £60m plus £5m in add-ons to sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton, with an agreement expected after the 21-year-old midfielder expressed a desire to join the club as far back as last summer.

United have already added Karl Darlow, Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans to their squad this summer, but the club identified a midfielder and a left-back as priorities before the September 1 transfer deadline. The Baleba deal is not yet finalised, though progress has been made and the two clubs are edging towards a resolution.

Once a transfer for the Brighton midfielder is confirmed, United are expected to move quickly on a left-back. Their primary target, Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, appears out of reach — Newcastle have endured a difficult window and have no appetite to sell the 21-year-old. United have consequently explored alternatives.

Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly has attracted genuine interest from Old Trafford. The 19-year-old spent much of last season operating as a left-back before being deployed in defensive midfield towards the end of the campaign, and United have tracked him for some time. A move would be conditional on him returning to the left-back role.

Racing de Santander’s Jorge Salinas is another name under consideration. The Spanish defender made 34 appearances last season and impressed British scouts at the Under-19 European Championship in Wales. Crucially, Salinas carries a reported €16m (£13.7m) release clause — a fraction of what Hall would command — making him an affordable option as cover for Luke Shaw.

United’s recruitment this summer has shown a willingness to move discreetly. Tielemans’ £35m switch from Aston Villa caught the market off guard, with club officials pleased the deal was wrapped up before news broke. A similarly low-profile left-back signing before the deadline cannot be ruled out, even if Salinas’s modest release clause makes the lack of a completed deal slightly puzzling.

Lewis-Skelly, by contrast, would represent a more complex and expensive negotiation with Arsenal, but United’s sustained interest suggests the club views him as a credible long-term option on the left flank.