Manchester United submit £65m bid for Brighton's Carlos Baleba to bolster midfield

Manchester United have submitted a bid of around £60 million, plus £5 million in add-ons, for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba as the club races to strengthen its midfield before the transfer deadline.

The 22-year-old Cameroon international would become United’s most expensive signing of the summer if Brighton agree to a sale, surpassing the £50 million deal that brought Andrey Santos to Old Trafford last month and the £35 million spent on Youri Tielemans. United had tracked Baleba the previous summer, but Brighton’s valuation in excess of £100 million deterred them from pursuing a deal at that stage.

Baleba’s form dipped during the 2024-25 season, with Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler suggesting that persistent transfer speculation had unsettled the player. He made 23 Premier League starts for the Seagulls last season.

A potential complication surrounds the player’s fitness. Baleba recently sustained an ankle ligament injury which, while not considered serious, could prevent him from being available immediately should a transfer be finalised.

The move is part of a broader midfield overhaul at United following Casemiro’s departure on a free transfer. The club’s need for reinforcements deepened when Manuel Ugarte suffered a serious knee injury at the World Cup, leaving the squad short of options in the engine room.

Manager Michael Carrick underlined the urgency for further additions when speaking in Dublin last week. “We always want to improve, we want to, you know, we want more, we need more, we keep looking for how we can do that, so that never stops. We’re conscious of that and we’ve got to keep pushing,” he said.