The direction of Manchester United’s rebuild is clear.
The arrivals of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and (imminently) Benjamin Sesko add much-needed firepower to the attacking line, but their profiles also highlight a key attribute that Ruben Amorim desires across the whole team: athleticism.
That’s why United’s interest in Brighton & Hove Albion’s Carlos Baleba makes sense. The 21-year-old is an all-action, front-footed midfielder who hoovers up ground for fun. Not only would he add intensity to the heart of the pitch, but his quality in and out of possession offers something United lack.
The expectation at Brighton was that clubs would come for Baleba next summer, with The Athletic reporting in July that one other leading Premier League side was monitoring him without being convinced he was ready to make the step up.
United’s interest suggests they are trying to get in before any bidding wars begin. Brighton’s desire to hold onto the player, the three years left on his deal, and United’s inability to sell their unwanted players may inhibit that aim. Chelsea have now stepped up talks over taking Alejandro Garnacho to Stamford Bridge, which would add to United’s funds, but Brighton would be looking for similar, if not more, than the £115m they received for Moises Caicedo in August 2023 if Baleba leaves this summer.
Speaking after Manchester United’s pre-season friendly against Leeds United, Amorim was open about where his side needed to improve. “We had a lack of pace, especially in the middle of the park,” he said.
While the shape can be fluid in possession, Amorim’s insistence on a 3-4-2-1 setup means there can often be a strain on a midfield pair to cover ground and protect the centre of the pitch when United lose possession. Therefore, the midfield role requires a high degree of versatility to adjust to the physical demands.
Kobbie Mainoo has yet to secure his place in Amorim’s starting line-up. Toby Collyer’s future is still uncertain. A breakdown of United’s midfield options reveals gaps within each of their profiles. Manuel Ugarte’s strengths lie more in his defensive work, Bruno Fernandes is undoubtedly more useful on the ball than off it, and Casemiro’s 33-year-old legs are unlikely to sustain the intensity required to cover the ground across a whole season.
United need a man who can offer all three attributes to the table. Enter Baleba.
It speaks to the sharp trajectory of Baleba’s career that United would like to be the third club he plays for in barely three years and all before his 22nd birthday. Just 21 league appearances for Lille in Ligue 1 were enough to convince Brighton that the Cameroon international was ideally suited to fill the boots of the departing Caicedo in the heart of the midfield — but his Premier League transition was not seamless.
Understandably, Baleba needed time to adapt to the intensity of English football. He only managed 15 Premier League starts in 2023-24 — just 39 per cent of available minutes under Fabian Hurzeler’s predecessor, Roberto De Zerbi.
Last season saw Baleba’s importance surge, with only Jan Paul van Hecke and Bart Verbruggen getting more league minutes than him in 2024-25. Particularly in the context of United’s options in midfield — where Fernandes started and finished 28 Premier League matches in 2024-25, as many as Casemiro, Ugarte, Mainoo, and Christian Eriksen combined — do not overlook Baleba’s availability.
Brighton’s expectation of keeping him this summer extends to their plans for the next midfielder on their production line, 19-year-old Malick Yalcouye, who is expected to have another year developing out on loan.
Sifting through Baleba’s profile — comparing his attributes with other midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues — it is clear how much he loves to stick a foot in and get involved in Brighton’s defensive work.
Not only is he high-volume in those actions (Front-foot defending, 88 out of 99), but he will come out of his challenges on top more often than not (Tackle success, 88 out of 99). Catching opponents on the blindside and snatching the ball away from them is a skill Baleba has honed very well in the past 18 months.
As an all-round dueller, Baleba ranks better than what United have. His success rates when tackling, dribbling and in aerial duels put him inside the top quarter of Premier League midfielders last term.
The real quality of Baleba is that he is something of a hybrid of the two Brighton midfielders to precede him, Caicedo and Yves Bissouma.
Caicedo grew into a box-to-box role but was all about midfield battles, flying into tackles, and chasing down opponents. Bissouma played differently — he was stylish on the ball and prepared to try to wriggle his way out of dangerous situations, not to mention having more than a penchant for a long shot.
Add Baleba’s rarity as a left-footed central midfielder and there are few players with his profile in the market.
According to SkillCorner, Baleba’s ability to retain possession under pressure was among the best in Europe’s top five leagues when compared with fellow under-23 midfielders, highlighting just how mature he is in looking after the ball in central areas.
Given his athleticism, Baleba’s ability to wriggle out of trouble by moving dynamically with the ball at his feet is widely known among the Brighton fanbase, with a driving run that can move his side from deeper build-up areas to the middle third in a single breath.
Such uncoachable press resistance has become particularly sought after for Amorim’s side, especially as the switch to a back three means one extra defender replaces a forward, which reduces the number of exit routes. This is partly why Fernandes and Eriksen were used in deeper roles under Amorim last season.
Baleba filled in at left centre-back on more than one occasion last season, when injury issues and suspension limited Brighton’s options. It adds some extra cover at left centre-back should United need it, and speaks to his comfort at dropping into deep spaces and breaking the first line of pressure.
He proved that inside five minutes at Old Trafford last season.
With United sat in a compact mid-block but not applying pressure, Baleba dropped between the centre-backs, collected the ball from Van Hecke, and clipped a pass in-behind for Kaoru Mitoma to chase.
Within seconds, Mitoma could square it for Yankuba Minteh to tap in, and Brighton were in front.
It is worth noting that Baleba is not the finished product, nor should he be at 21.
Baleba makes occasional errors — part of that comes baked in with being so brave on the ball (in the same way that Fernandes can turn over possession when trying to create), but he also overplays at times and can be liable defensively.
He picked up eight yellow cards last term and twice conceded penalties, one of which was away to United last term, when an overzealous Baleba sprinted back to try to prevent Joshua Zirkzee from getting a shot off. He ended up pulling Zirkzee over and conceding a penalty.
His sending-off at Bournemouth was a perfect example. While he can count himself slightly unfortunate for collecting a second yellow card for a slide tackle at speed that did get the ball, there could be no complaints for the first yellow card: Baleba had his pocket picked in midfield and had to pull an opponent back to stop a counter-attack.
“This is the first season he has played regularly,” Hurzeler said in January. “It is a big change for a young player to be playing most of the time. That is a big development in his profile. He tries to adapt and he tries to improve. At some moments, he is still not really alive, he switches off, and then we have to help him. But generally, he has had a big impact.
“He brings a physicality and a good balance between the defence and controlling the game in possession. He can score goals, he can defend goals. He has a bright future if he stays grounded and humble with this work ethic.”
Brighton have been set up to replace and replenish their midfield stock in recent years, with Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister, and Caicedo all moving to ‘Big Six’ clubs in recent seasons. Given the potential Baleba showed last season, it is hardly surprising that he is the next name to be snatched from the production line.
How likely a move may be this summer is another question, but Baleba’s profile is clearly in high demand among Europe’s elite.
Additional reporting: Andy Naylor
(Top photo: Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)