Man City to rival Man Utd for sensational £100m signing as strong Guardiola interest emerges

Manchester United will have to fend off Manchester City and potentially even Real Madrid to sign Carlos Baleba, with sources revealing whether Ruben Amorim’s side are confident about landing the Brighton & Hove Albion star.

Baleba is a 21-year-old midfielder who first arrived in Europe in January 2022 when joining Lille’s B team from Cameroonian outfit Brasseries. Baleba quickly made a big impression on Lille coaches and gained promotion to their first team, going on to make 23 appearances.

Baleba’s rapid rise continued when he joined Brighton from Lille in a £23million transfer in August 2023.

Brighton are renowned for securing some of the best young players from around the world and their recruitment chiefs identified Baleba as the next big thing.

He has gone from strength to strength on the south coast, playing 77 times in all competitions.

The seven-cap Cameroon international is a brilliant all-round midfielder who uses his fantastic game intelligence to intercept opposition passes before driving Brighton forward either with a defence-splitting pass or forceful dribble into the final third.

Baleba can physically dominate opposition midfielders and also has a great engine, traits that help Brighton enormously.

However, the Seagulls are at growing risk of losing their latest gem either this summer or next. It emerged recently that Man Utd have made contact for Baleba, viewing him as their next statement signing now that Benjamin Sesko has arrived from RB Leipzig.

But Man Utd will not have it all their own way in the pursuit of Baleba. As per ESPN, rivals Man City could enter into a transfer battle for the coveted Premier League talent.

Pep Guardiola is a ‘longtime admirer’ of Baleba and sees him as the future of the Man City midfield, helping them to move on from the likes of Ilkay Gundogan and Bernardo Silva.

Baleba has impressed scouts from both City and United and he could have his pick of the two Manchester giants soon.

Brighton are determined to keep Baleba for at least one more season to help them reach their goals. Brighton have shown time and time again they will drive a hard bargain, even if they feel the time is right to sell.

TEAMtalk understands Baleba already has a huge price tag of £100m, and that could rise further if he enjoys an impressive 2025-26 campaign.

Brighton sold Moises Caicedo to Chelsea for £100m plus £15m in add-ons in August 2023, and they think Baleba has the potential to become even better.

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Man Utd take small step towards Carlos Baleba signing

TEAMtalk revealed on Friday that United are confident Baleba wants to join them after signalling their interest through an initial enquiry.

Ruben Amorim’s side have been boosted by the fact Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha all showed a strong desire to move to Old Trafford even without the offer of European football.

They think Baleba could follow in the footsteps of those players and join Amorim’s project to get United back to where they belong.

We understand Alejandro Garnacho’s sale would give United a major lift as they look to drum up the necessary funds for Baleba.

City are always tough competitors in the transfer market, though. The lure of playing, and improving, under Guardiola is often hard for players to turn down.

Plus, City will likely challenge for the league title sooner than United, who finished way down in 15th place last term.

Pundit Troy Deeney has told United it is effectively ‘now or never’ to complete the deal, as if they wait 12 months then Real Madrid could swoop in with a rival offer.

United signing Baleba would delight Rio Ferdinand, who recently told them to prioritise the midfield enforcer over Sesko.

Baleba’s superb ability would take United’s midfield to the next level and help them to start dominating games, something they have often failed to do in recent seasons.

Interestingly, Baleba is not the only top-class star City and United could battle for.

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