Manchester United are closing in on a deal to sign Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, with the club reportedly turning to the Cameroon international as the final piece of a summer midfield rebuild. An initial offer of £60m plus £5m in add-ons has been submitted, and talks between the two clubs are continuing in what has been described as an amicable process.
The move follows a five-week period in which several names were linked with United's search for a third midfielder, including Real Madrid's Aurelien Tchouameni, Bournemouth's Alex Scott and Tyler Adams, Roma's Manu Kone and, more recently, Fulham's Sander Berge. United had publicly downplayed interest in Baleba even as groundwork for a potential deal was quietly laid over the past year.
How close is the deal to completion?
According to Sky Sports, United are now close to a full agreement with Brighton, with Baleba understood to be preparing to travel to Manchester for a medical examination. The same report adds that United already have a five-year contract prepared for him to sign once the transfer is formally concluded.
Not every outlet agrees on the exact numbers involved. The Athletic reports that Brighton are holding out for more than United's opening proposal of £60m plus £5m in add-ons, while the Irish Times suggests Baleba has already agreed personal terms and that United believe the deal can be finalised for under £75m.
It is too early to judge how the individual signings will work out on the pitch, but United's recruitment and data departments appear to have succeeded in reshaping the midfield built under previous manager Ruben Amorim and now overseen by Michael Carrick.
Why did United need a midfield rebuild?
It had been known since January that veteran Brazilian Casemiro would depart once his contract expired on 30 June 2026. Amorim's departure had already prompted captain Bruno Fernandes to shift into a more advanced attacking role, and with Manuel Ugarte failing to convince despite his £50.8m price tag, United entered the summer with only Kobbie Mainoo as an experienced midfielder guaranteed regular football in the 2026-27 season.
Mainoo's game is built around receiving the ball in congested areas and driving forward with it. New arrival Andrey Santos, signed from Chelsea, has impressed defensively during pre-season, while Youri Tielemans, brought in from Aston Villa, offers composure, range in his passing and an ambition to contribute more goals.
A defeat by AC Milan in Wroclaw exposed a shortage of physical energy and a lack of a traditional box-to-box presence in United's ranks — precisely the profile Baleba is seen as providing, given his capacity to cover large areas of the pitch quickly.
Should the transfer go through, Carrick would gain further tactical variety once Baleba recovers from an ankle injury picked up in pre-season, which is expected to keep him sidelined for a further couple of weeks. That would give the manager options including Mason Mount, Scotland World Cup squad member Tyler Fletcher and, if required, Fernandes in a deeper role.
Has United's transfer strategy changed?
The pursuit of Baleba also points to a broader shift in how United now conduct their transfer business. In previous years, the club were often seen chasing targets publicly for extended periods with uncertain outcomes.
The attempt to sign Frenkie de Jong from Barcelona in the summer of 2022 remains the clearest example. Then-manager Erik ten Hag was convinced the deal could be completed even as United's own recruitment staff warned it was not realistic.
That saga dragged on until late August, when United eventually abandoned the pursuit; defeats to Brighton and Brentford in the opening weeks of that season ultimately pushed the club toward a £70m deal for Casemiro instead.
This time, United appear to have operated with more discretion. Speculation around Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson, an England international, was allowed to circulate partly because the club knew he would be financially out of reach, which helped mask their genuine early targets. By contrast, the Santos deal was completed within a week, and the Tielemans transfer took even less time.
There had also been internal discussion about using Mount as the club's third midfielder, given his strong early pre-season form. However, his early substitution in the friendly against Paris St-Germain in Gothenburg on 8 August 2026 — described at the time as precautionary — combined with his history of injury problems, appears to have counted against that option, and he has still to fully return from a foot injury.
Earlier in the window, reports suggested United had shelved their interest in Baleba altogether after he suffered the ankle ligament injury in pre-season, according to a report from Tribuna. A separate account from Football Transfers similarly indicated the injury had led United to put the move on hold while they weighed up alternative midfield targets. As recently as April 2026, The Athletic reported that United regarded Baleba only as a lower-tier midfield option at that stage of the window.
What has changed since then?
Despite that earlier hesitancy, Baleba was said to have been dropped from the shortlist of names United were actively pursuing, with Tchouameni, Scott, Kone, Berge and Adams all reportedly monitored instead. The fact United have now made a formal offer suggests a swift conclusion is likely once the fee is settled.
It is understood United's recruitment operation is now working to a far more tightly controlled plan than in previous transfer windows, with targets identified and pursued with less public deliberation.
Is a left-back still on the agenda?
Of the four permanent signings United made in 2025, only striker Benjamin Sesko and goalkeeper Senne Lammens arrived from outside the Premier League. Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha, both signed from Premier League clubs, settled quickly into their new environment, which appears to have influenced United's approach to recruitment this summer.
Cunha and Tielemans both moved via release clauses, while neither Mbeumo, Santos nor Baleba carried one. There is a view within the game that buying from Premier League rivals costs more given their financial strength, but that the premium reduces the risk of a player struggling to adapt — a trade-off United appear willing to accept.
"We want more, we need more," Carrick stressed last week.
Baleba's arrival, if confirmed, would not mark the end of United's summer business. There is understood to be a clear need for a new left-back, though no candidate has yet emerged as the frontrunner.
What happens next?
Baleba is expected to travel to Manchester for a medical once the two clubs agree the final fee and payment structure, according to Sky Sports. With the transfer window closing on 1 September 2026, both clubs have a limited window in which to finalise terms, as noted by Football Transfers.
- United's opening bid for Baleba stands at £60m plus £5m in add-ons
- Baleba has made 112 appearances for Brighton since his £23.2m move from Lille in August 2023
- United already have a five-year contract prepared for him, per Sky Sports
- The Athletic and the Irish Times differ on whether Brighton will hold out for more than £65m or accept a deal below £75m
- The transfer window closes on 1 September 2026
