Intermediaries working on behalf of Manchester United have contacted Brighton & Hove Albion to express an interest in signing midfielder Carlos Baleba, according to reports.
A new striker is the current priority for United, who are leading Newcastle United in the race to sign RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Šeško after the Slovenia international expressed a desire to move to Old Trafford this summer.
If they can get that deal over the line, United are then expected to try bolster Ruben Amorim’s central midfield options, which currently consist of Casemiro, Manuel Ugarte, Toby Collyer, Kobbie Mainoo and, to a lesser extent, captain Bruno Fernandes.
The Athletic note contact has been made over 21-year-old Baleba, who is quickly establishing himself as one of world football’s best young defensive midfielders.
It is stressed that United’s interest has not been formalised—all contact has been made through intermediaries—but Baleba is emerging as a top target for the Red Devils if they do bring a midfielder into the club.
Brighton, for their part, do not want to lose the Cameroon international, and their lofty valuation of Baleba has left everyone involved aware that a move to United would be difficult to pull off.
During an appearance at a fans’ forum event, Brighton chief executive Paul Barber downplayed speculation of a possible exit for Baleba.
“Manchester United have not been in touch with me so, from that point of view... speculation’s speculation,” he told those in attendance.
“We will always, as I said earlier, try and make sure that we sell our best players at the right time, not just for the player but also for us, and if we end up doing that with any player it is with a view to leaving Fabian [Hürzeler, manager] with a very competitive squad whatever happens, but we don’t want to sell our best players.
“Carlos is a fantastic, fantastic talent. He’s got a lot of years ahead of him and we hope he will be here for many years to come but it’s something that as always is subject to the dynamics of the football world that is not always predictable.”
Brighton paid £23.2 million ($31 million) to sign Baleba from Lille in the summer of 2023 and tied him down to a five-year contract which also includes the option for a further 12 months, meaning the Seagulls are under no pressure to agree to a sale.
READ THE LATEST MAN UTD NEWS, TRANSFER RUMORS AND MORE
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man Utd ‘Explore’ Signing of Talented Brighton Midfielder.