How Man Utd finally got the Carlos Baleba deal they wanted

Man Utd finally get Carlos Baleba deal they wanted Make us your Google favourite Manchester United have reached an agreement to sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton , according to insider. United have been chasing a third midfielder since completing deals to sign Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa, but the Red Devils have been patient in their work. After days of negotiations, they have found common ground with Brighton for Baleba, having previously had an offer worth €76 million (£65m) knocked back. However, the player’s desire to move to Old Trafford appears to have been decisive. Romano on Baleba to Man Utd Romano explains on X : “Carlos Baleba to Manchester United, here we go! Verbal agreement in place between clubs. “Improved bid sent on Friday after £65m package rejected and player set to join the only club he wanted. “Baleba will be a new Manchester United player soon.” There is no indication what the agreement between United and Brighton is, either in terms of total transfer fee, upfront costs or potential bonus payments. Brighton drop transfer hint Brighton CEO Paul Barber had previously hinted there were developments afoot . “It’s not something that I can talk about right now,” he told TalkSport this week. “This time of year we’re always going to be subject to bids for our players, we’re always going to be interested in ones that are sensible and are going to make sense for us financially, economically. “But we also have to balance that with making sure our squad is as strong as it can be to compete in competitions like the one we’re in. “So nothing really to say on Carlos at the moment other than that he’s a hugely talented young midfielder who’s done really well for us and has attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world now for a couple of years.” United getting Baleba at a bargain price United have long been interested in Baleba. Last summer, they attempted to raid Brighton for the Cameroon international midfielder but were put off by the €117m (£100m) price tag that the Seagulls had put on the 22-year-old. Now available for a knockdown price after a disappointing campaign, he represents something as a market opportunity, and given his qualities, he was hard for Michael Carrick’s side to ignore. At his best, though, he offers Man Utd vital qualities they need in the heart of the field, most notably a capacity to cover ground at speed – a quality notably lacking in Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Kobbie Mainoo. He has a powerful all-round game and is particularly adept at the defensive side of the midfield art form, which is again something that United feel they are lacking going into the season following the departure of Casemiro to Real Madrid. While the price that United will pay for him is unclear, it will be above the player’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €53.5m. It is also likely to be slightly above his peak valuation of €70.2m, which was achieved earlier this year – but not much. Carrick is the man to get the best from Baleba While this rapid drop reflects a dip in the player’s form, Carrick will be optimistic that he can lead the youngster back to his best level. The Man Utd boss revealed last week that his history as a midfielder himself shapes his view of the game, but it also hinted that he can mould Baleba into a player stronger than ever. “Being a midfielder and how I’ve seen the game, in some ways it helps because you’re kind of connected to all parts of the team over time. I’m not saying you have to be a midfielder to be a good coach, but I think it’s how my reference points are in some ways, and what I feel has worked over the years, what kind of football I think the supporters want to see as well, and hopefully that fits together,” Carrick said. “Naturally, midfield is a big part of the teams that I’ve coached.” And he also delivered a not-so-subtle hint that he still wants signings. “I think we’ve got a pretty good balance in all when you lay the squad out, but yeah, of course, we would like more,” he said. “We would like more, we need to keep pushing for more.” Baleba may still be above the price point that United ideally want to pay, but after a couple of strong additions already, he would appear a measured gamble who has a high likelihood of coming good.