A proven Premier League performer, Brighton's Carlos Baleba has been linked with a big move for years.
Arriving from Lille in 2023 for an initial fee of £24 million, the Cameroon international has won fans across the league for his combative style, stamina and passing range across 92 appearances in three years.
But when United and rivals Manchester City came calling this time last summer, ESPN sources were told that Brighton were looking for a fee of around £100 million. Now, sources said that United believe Brighton could now be willing to accept a lower offer (reportedly around £60 million) for Baleba, 22, leading to renewed interest.
However, with United having already spent £85 million to bring in two midfielders this summer -- Andrey Santos (£48 million) from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans (£35 million) from Aston Villa -- where might Baleba fit?
United's search for the ideal midfield partner to play alongside Bruno Fernandes is a long-standing issue, so is Baleba a natural replacement for Casemiro? Will he replace the injured Manuel Ugarte long term? Or does he simply provide depth alongside the two new arrivals, plus Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount?
Position
Fundamentally a defensive midfielder, the Cameroon international bases his game on excellent tactical awareness rather than pure disruption. He reads developing situations early, screens intelligently, tracks runners diligently, and plugs midfield gaps without losing discipline in his positional play.
Baleba largely profiles as a like-for-like replacement for Casemiro, albeit without the Brazilian's instinct for late runs onto the attacking box and mid-distance goal threat. -- Tor-Kristian Karlsen
Strengths
Baleba can dominate the center of the park through a mixture of sheer athleticism, diligent defensive ability and the odd cutting pass.
Modern football -- and particularly the current Premier League landscape -- demands midfielders have freakish physicality and stamina in order to hold their own, and at his best, Baleba can prove too tough to handle for just about anyone.
He covers a lot of ground and does it quickly -- he was one of just two central midfielders to top 34 kilometers per hour in 2024-25, per Gradient Sports. That season, his 92 tackles and interceptions combined ranked joint-sixth among center midfielders in the league. That ability to snap to the ball fast, then tackle or intercept cleanly, makes him a blur of activity in the middle third.
Once he has the ball, he's a good carrier, capable of running with the ball over big distances or squeezing past opponents. He maintains his balance in duels on and off the ball, which is key to his success in this area.
Areas to work on
You may have noted above that the statistics used were from the season before last. That's because 2025-26 did not go to plan for Baleba, who started the season poorly (under heavy transfer speculation), got taken off at half-time multiple times and also struggled with injury. He also injured his ankle ligaments this summer, so first things, first, he'll need to fight his way back to fitness and confidence.
Beyond that, his passing is extremely inconsistent. He can keep the ball moving cleanly enough and is capable of using it creatively -- but more often than you'd like, he misconnects with the ball, badly overhits a switch or under-hits a short pass, which puts his teammates in trouble. It's a coaching point United will hopefully work on.
He also offers very little goal threat and is a poor crosser, but that's also not really his job.
So will he fit in?
Theoretically, next to Tielemans in central midfield in Michael Carrick's 4-2-3-1 formation. And, like a glove.
Tielemans was a superb addition earlier this summer, but it was absolutely crucial that Manchester United acquired a more athletic, physically imposing player to partner him -- just as Aston Villa and Belgium did with the 6-foot-6 Amadou Onana.
Santos was a good start, but there was a lingering feeling that United needed another; Baleba fits the brief perfectly, and better yet, the club have been courting him for well over a year.
