Carlos Baleba to Man Utd WILL happen as Brighton set final price

Manchester United are on the verge of making Carlos Baleba their third midfield signing of the summer, with Brighton’s valuation having been confirmed amid an enticing update from a journalist.

Man Utd decided at the start of the summer that central midfield reinforcements would be their priority. The Red Devils subsequently missed out on Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, while a deal for Atalanta’s Ederson was scrapped after he failed a medical.

United were then told that fellow targets Aurelien Tchouameni and Alex Scott would not be available this summer, forcing them to pivot towards Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans instead.

Michael Carrick’s side paid Chelsea £50m for Santos and activated Tielemans’ £35m release clause at Aston Villa.

David Ornstein revealed on Wednesday morning that United are ‘closing in’ on Baleba, as their £65m bid was close to Brighton’s demands.

We revealed on Wednesday evening that Brighton would accept £70m for the Cameroonian, and our information has now been backed up by The Telegraph.

Their northern football correspondent, Luke Edwards, has written on X/Twitter: ‘BREAKING If Manchester United get to £70m package for Carlos Baleba the deal will get done. Understand Brighton would be willing to part with the player at that price.’

The Athletic’s Brighton reporter, Andy Naylor, has strongly suggested Baleba will move to Old Trafford, writing on social media: ‘On transfers, Minteh (to Liverpool) and Baleba (to Man Utd) will probably both end up happening, as the offers (50m and around 60m) are not that far away from making sense.

‘Big profits again and moves to big clubs for players given game time + developed. That’s the model.’

Personal terms between Baleba and United are already in place, having been agreed when the club held talks with him last summer.

Fabrizio Romano has also discussed United’s move for the 22-year-old on his YouTube channel.

Man Utd in close contact for Carlos Baleba – Fabrizio Romano

“Negotiations were ongoing in the last 24 hours again for Carlos Baleba. As of tonight, there is still no agreement between Manchester United and Brightonon, but they will be in contact again in the next few hours,” Romano said.

“The feeling remains that Manchester United are very close to Baleba. There is still no club-to-club agreement, but it’s getting closer.

“There is a conversation about the deal, the structure of the deal, including the add-ons.

“So the deal is absolutely on for Carlos Baleba to join Manchester United. The conversation continues.

“Manchester United are optimistic to get one more.”

Meanwhile, we can confirm that United are leading the race for a Bundesliga defender.

Plus, Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde has reportedly reached a decision on joining United.