Manchester United could reportedly be back in for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba after missing out on some recent transfer targets.
Mateus Fernandes has just been confirmed as a new Tottenham player, but he’d also been on Man Utd’s radar.
The Red Devils were keen on Fernandes but ultimately viewed him as too expensive, according to iNews, while Manchester City ended up winning the race for Elliot Anderson, who’d also been an option for United, according to BBC Sport.
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Now this could mean reviving interest in Baleba, who remains keen on a move to Old Trafford, according to Give Me Sport.
Carlos Baleba to Manchester United transfer back on?
Baleba was notably a target for United last summer, but Brighton were understandably keen not to sell the talented young Cameroon international.
Even now after a slight dip in form, it seems Brighton would be expected to command as much as £70m to let Baleba go, according to Give Me Sport’s report.
It remains to be seen if MUFC would still pay that for the 22-year-old, who perhaps now looks a bit overpriced after failing to maintain the form that got him onto the club’s radar in the first place.
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United do need to find a solution in midfield soon, though, with Casemiro’s departure leaving a major hole to be plugged in Michael Carrick’s midfield.
Manuel Ugarte has also suffered a serious injury whilst at the World Cup with Uruguay, so the club could also do with more depth in that department.
Baleba might not be perfect, but it’s a difficult market at the moment with players like Anderson and Fernandes costing hugely inflated fees, so this could end up being a decent option to explore.
Baleba should be the one to replace Casemiro. He really wants to come to United and he is the best DM out there for the job imo. He did not have the best of seasons last year but was still superb at times. I really think his head was turned when United came in but was priced out of a move with a 100m valuation. I think we could now get him for 70/75m , and he would be the icing on the cake for us, and he wants to prove this himself.
I think when we go patient for a bit of days Brighton will come knocking
They need to get something going before all the top talent is spoken for. Seriously can,t believe spurs have already got fernandes & tonali with no euro footy. Come on we need to be competitive
its all about the £££££££ for those 2 , no ambition just in it for the brass, kcuf em, they will do nowt eitjer of them.
The ONLY player that comes close to replacing Casimero, is Aurelien Tchouameni. Neither Anderson, nor M. Fernandes could fill that void as completely… despite their obvious talents!
Baleba’s skills are similar, but to a lesser degree. But his firm dipped from the 24/25 season, & this must be reflected in an asking price of £60 million, or less.