Man Utd will ‘return’ for perfect player they agreed personal terms with despite GIGANTIC price hike

Steve Pearson 02 Sep 2025 11:50 AM

Man Utd will revisit a move for a player they agreed personal terms with this summer

Manchester United had personal terms in place with a perfect player for Ruben Amorim, and despite a deal costing a colossal £55m more than they expected, it will be revisited in the near future, according to reports.

Man Utd successfully overhauled their forward line in the summer window with the triple addition of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko.

Attention then turned to signing a goalkeeper and central midfielder. On deadline day, the former box was ticked through the arrival of Senne Lammens.

However, United failed to add in central areas despite agreeing personal terms with their number one target.

That’s according to The Athletic who revealed Man Utd did strike an agreement on personal terms with Carlos Baleba in mid-August.

The Brighton ace, 21, had been identified as the perfect player for Amorim with his blend of energy and dynamism in the engine room.

Per the report, Amorim pushed heavily for the move, while Sir Jim Ratcliffe also tasked his underlings with making a deal happen.

Man Utd initially believed a deal could be struck for around £60m – roughly the same price Brighton sold Joao Pedro to Chelsea for.

Accordingly, Man Utd made an official club-to-club approach but it quickly became clear Brighton not only valued Baleba at £115m – a whopping £55m more than United’s expectation – but the Seagulls would refuse to sell their star man this summer anyway.

Man Utd did explore moves for alternatives, with a late loan approach for Atletico Madrid’s Conor Gallagher coming to nothing.

Others United considered, per the report, were Angelo Stiller, Ardon Jashari (both Stuttgart at the time), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace) and Morten Hjulmand (Sporting CP).

Ultimately, no signings in midfield were made, meaning Kobbie Mainoo was denied his request to leave via the loan route.

But per The Athletic, the story between Man Utd and Baleba is not over. The report concluded ‘United are expected to return for Baleba in future.’

ICYMI: All the done deals by Premier League clubs in the summer 2025 transfer window

Fabrizio Romano on Carlos Baleba to Man Utd

Another reliable source who’s confirmed Man Utd will return for Balebs is Fabrizio Romano.

When speaking on August 22 while the window was still open and Baleba rumours were still circulating, Romano stated: “I can guarantee that nothing has changed with Brighton. Brighton maintain a very high wall around Baleba, they want to keep the player for this summer.

“But I keep insisting that Manchester United for 2026 – so not this transfer window but for the future – will maintain the name of Carlos Baleba very high on their shortlist.

“Amorim is in love, the management is in love, the recruitment team is in love. They believe Baleba is the perfect player.

“When you have that kind of strong feeling, a very good connection with the player and very good connection with his agents because when Man Utd held talks with his agents in recent weeks it was very positive over contract, personal terms, intention to join even without European football

“So I don’t think it’s over for the future between Man Utd and Baleba. They will really try again for the player in the future. He remains one of the big names on the shortlist for the long-term because really Man Utd are in love with this player.

“So I think there will be a lot of movement for Baleba in 2026.”