Manchester United Signs Carlos Baleba for £65m

Manchester United have finally got their man.

The club have agreed a deal worth an initial £65m for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, with the 22-year-old due in Manchester this weekend for a medical.

If everything goes to plan, Baleba will become the third new midfielder through the door in this window under Michael Carrick. The Brighton man, a specialist No 6, is set to slot in behind Youri Tielemans, the £35m No 8, and Andrey Santos, another holding option who arrived for an initial £48m with up to £2m in add-ons.

Even before potential bonuses, Baleba will be United’s most expensive signing of the summer. His arrival would push the club’s outlay to £148m, a clear statement of where Carrick believes this team must be rebuilt: right down the middle.

Inside the club, there is quiet satisfaction at finally closing a deal they couldn’t get over the line last year. United tried and failed to prise the Cameroon midfielder away then, when Brighton were eyeing a figure close to the £115m they banked from Chelsea for Moisés Caicedo in 2023.

The landscape has shifted. This time, Carrick gets his midfield enforcer at a price United view as strong business both on the pitch and on the balance sheet.

Carrick has been open about why he keeps returning to the same area of the pitch. Speaking before the agreement was reached, he underlined how central a reliable core is to everything he wants his side to be.

“I think it gives you the foundation of the team, you know,” he said. “I think the foundation of the team is important to be consistent, to be consistent through one game from start to finish, to be consistent over a period of time.

“You need a solid foundation through the middle of the team and trying and putting it together and getting that balance. But certainly, I think if you look at all the top teams over the years, all the great teams over the years, the spine of the team is really strong, you know.

“So we’re conscious of that, and I think we’ve got a good spine of the team right now. We can keep improving as we go in different ways and coaching and helping the boys and developing them, and I think we’re in a good place.”

With Tielemans to dictate, Santos to compete for the holding role and Baleba primed to anchor the base of midfield, Carrick is building exactly what he describes: a spine he can trust.

The medical this weekend will decide whether that vision gains its next cornerstone.