Wayne Rooney Backs Carlos Baleba to Transform Manchester United’s Midfield

Wayne Rooney is convinced Carlos Baleba will transform Manchester United’s midfield – and he’s having none of the talk that the Brighton man went missing last season.

United are closing in on a deal worth up to £70 million for the 22-year-old Cameroon midfielder, who is set to become their third midfield arrival of the summer after Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. The rebuild is gathering pace. The performances are not.

Tielemans and Santos both started on Saturday as United slumped to a flat 2-0 defeat at newly promoted Hull, a display that only underlined how badly the team needs bite and energy in the middle of the pitch.

Rooney, speaking on the “Stick to United with Wayne Rooney” podcast on Disney+, made it clear he believes Baleba is exactly that.

“I really like him, I think he’s a really good signing,” United’s record scorer said. “We need another midfield player with a bit of physicality and I know he’s not six-foot-four or whatever but he covers the ground really well, he’s aggressive, he takes the ball, and is what we need. He’s a very good player who will improve the team massively.”

United pushed hard for Baleba last season, only to be put off by Brighton’s reported £100m valuation. The move never materialised, the price never dropped, and the narrative turned against him.

Baleba started just 23 Premier League games, didn’t score, and the whispers began: had his head gone? Had he “gone missing” on the south coast after the Old Trafford move fell through?

Rooney doesn’t buy that version of events.

“I don’t think he went missing,” he said. “The chance doesn’t come around that often to play for Manchester United, so you don’t know what effect that has. There’s no denying his ability as a player. I think he is a top player.”

For United, this is not just another signing. It’s part of a forced reset.

Casemiro, once the heartbeat of the midfield, has gone. Manuel Ugarte, signed to bring steel and structure, has suffered a serious knee injury before he could establish himself. The centre of the pitch, for so long United’s problem area, is being ripped up and rebuilt on the fly.

Competition for Places

That is why Rooney’s eyes are on the mix rather than the individual.

“It will be interesting with Tielemans, Santos and [Kobbie] Mainoo,” he said. “But this is what it should be. Competition for places. If you don’t play well, you don’t play.”

The message is blunt. The standard has to rise. And if Baleba arrives for that £70m fee, there will be nowhere to hide in United’s new-look midfield.