Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba is thought to be open to joining Manchester United this summer, while Seagulls boss Fabian Hürzeler insists that he isn’t afraid of losing any player.
United have splashed almost £200 million ($271.3 million) on three forward-thinking recruits in recent months. Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Šeško should bring some edge to United’s toothless attack, yet concerns over their balance in midfield persist.
Ruben Amorim’s side have been exploring the possibility of a deal for Baleba to plug this gap. The uniquely gifted 21-year-old boasts a skillset varied enough to offer hope of fulfilling the demands placed upon the players shoehorned into United’s two-man midfield. Brighton are not prepared to let their star man leave on the cheap, with talk of a price tag stretching to €120 million (£103.7 million, $139.9 million) being floated.
Whether United can match that lofty sum remains to be seen, but they are expected to have few issues negotiating personal terms with the player. The Guardian describe Baleba as “keen” on a move to Old Trafford, although there is no suggestion that he will deploy the same aggressive stance of going on strike which has been the approach of choice for other wantaway stars this summer.
Brighton are naturally reluctant to part ways with Baleba, but Hürzeler was at pains to stress that they are not afraid. “No chance,” the German boss told BBC’s Monday Night Club this week. “I don’t feel fear. I’m not afraid of anything because the only thing we can do is be the best version we can be every day, like work as hard as we can.
“All the other things we can’t influence, so we really have to focus on us. For sure, we can’t spend the money like the big teams but one of our biggest values is togetherness. And if you stay together, if we try to push our limits and increase the boundaries, then I’m sure we can compete with the big teams.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Don’t Feel Fear’—Man Utd Given Carlos Baleba Boost, Brighton Boss Reveals Stance.