Aspinall Urges Brighton to Demand Mount in Baleba Deal
Warren Aspinall believes Brighton should think big if Manchester United come calling for Carlos Baleba again – and that means putting Mason Mount on the table.
Baleba spent much of last season looking like a player stuck between two worlds. The dynamic midfielder was strongly linked with Old Trafford in the summer of 2025, but when the move never materialised, his form dipped under Fabian Hürzeler. The noise faded. So did his influence.
United, though, have not disappeared from the story. They remain the only club with serious, public links to the 20-year-old, and their recent midfield rebuild has opened up an intriguing angle for Brighton.
Aspinall, the former Seagulls midfielder turned pundit, spelt it out on the Albion Unlimited podcast.
“I was thinking – if Baleba did go to Manchester United then I'd see if I could get Mason Mount as part of the deal,” he said.
It is a bold suggestion, but not a wild one. Mount has endured a stop-start spell at Old Trafford since arriving from Chelsea in 2023, his rhythm broken by injuries and inconsistent form. Now he faces an even more crowded path to the starting XI.
United have just brought in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. Add Kobbie Mainoo – the breakout star who looks nailed on in Erik ten Hag’s midfield – and Mount suddenly feels like the odd man out.
“He's not going to be in the side because they've just signed two midfield players in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos,” Aspinall argued. “Those two and Kobbie Mainoo will be starters, so where does that leave Mount? They have good players coming through in the likes of Tyler Fletcher.”
That is the leverage point Aspinall sees for Brighton. If United push hard for Baleba, the Seagulls, in his view, should not just ask for a fee. They should ask for a proven Premier League playmaker who needs a reset.
There is, of course, another scenario. United’s double midfield signing spree could cool their pursuit and leave Baleba exactly where he is. In that case, Aspinall is clear: the responsibility lands squarely on Hürzeler’s desk.
“For Baleba, the manager has to sit him down in a one-to-one situation and say, ‘look, just get your head down, do what you did not last season but the season before, and they will all come for you then’,” he said.
This is the crux of the Baleba puzzle. At his best, he looks built for the modern Premier League: strong, powerful, breaking lines, striding through pressure as if it is barely there. Aspinall remembers that version well.
“They would all be after him because he's excellent. He's strong, powerful, breaks the lines very well. It was easy for him in certain games.”
The problem, as he sees it, is what happens when a young player smells a blockbuster move too early. The mind drifts. The focus blurs. The performances follow.
“Sometimes you get a sniff from a club like Manchester United and you start to think about that big move and big payday but it has not happened,” Aspinall said. “You have to get your head down, go again, and see where it takes him.”
Brighton have built their recent success on exactly that mindset: hungry players, sharp coaching, and a refusal to let transfer speculation define a season. Baleba fits that model when he is locked in.
“If he does stay he needs to knuckle down and he can have a great season at Brighton,” Aspinall insisted. “If he plays well, Brighton play well because he wins that midfield battle. If he is at the top of his game he makes his team-mates believe.”
So Brighton stand at an interesting crossroads.
If United return, Aspinall wants them to punch their weight and ask for Mount, a player with pedigree who suddenly finds himself squeezed by Mainoo, Tielemans and Santos.
If United back off, the challenge is different but just as demanding: restore Baleba to the force he was the season before last, and let the rest of the league come chasing again.
Either way, Brighton’s midfield looks set to define more than just their own campaign – it could reshape careers at both ends of the Premier League table.
