Manchester United Moves to Sign Brighton's Baleba for Over £60 Million

Manchester United is getting closer to signing Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba. They are looking to boost their midfield for the new season.

Last summer, United wanted to sign the Cameroon international but did not go through with it. Brighton wanted over £100 million, which made the deal difficult.

Now, Baleba’s price has dropped. After failing to get Matheus Fernandes earlier this summer, United is back in for Baleba.

According to BBC Sport on Wednesday, the Red Devils have made an initial offer of £60 million. This is still lower than what Brighton wants, but talks are ongoing.

United has already added to their midfield this summer. They brought in Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48 million and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35 million in July.

Mason Mount played well with Santos in United’s first three pre-season games. But he has been dealing with a foot injury since the match against Paris Saint-Germain in Gothenburg on 8 August.

Baleba is also facing time on the sidelines. He suffered an ankle injury during a pre-season training camp in Austria and is expected to be out for another two to three weeks.

Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler’s team is set to fly to Norway on Wednesday. They have a UEFA Conference League play-off first-leg match against Tromso on Thursday.

Last season, Baleba played 35 times for Brighton and received seven yellow cards. He mainly played as a defensive midfielder.

The move makes sense for United. They tried to sign Baleba a year ago and know his strengths well.

Baleba is the kind of box-to-box midfielder United needs, even with the new signings of Santos and Tielemans.

He also wants to join United. The final fee is expected to be much lower than the £100 million Brighton asked for before.

But the drop in his price is also because of his disappointing form last season.

Baleba started 31 Premier League games and came on as a substitute three times in 2024-25. In 2025-26, he had 23 starts and eight substitute appearances. This shows a drop in his performance and importance to Hurzeler. Brighton secured European football for the second time in their history during this time.

There were rumors that Baleba was influenced by United's interest, but sources from Brighton said they did not believe that was true.

With the transfer deadline near, United is making their move now.

Manager Michael Carrick hopes to get the 2024-25 version of Baleba. They want to add more strength and energy to their midfield.