Manchester United Near £65m Deal for Carlos Baleba as Carrick Revamps Midfield
Manchester United have struck an agreement worth an initial £65m for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, with the 22-year-old due in Manchester this weekend to undergo a medical.
If all goes to plan, Baleba will become the third new midfielder through the door this window under Michael Carrick, and the most expensive of the lot.
Carrick’s new engine room
Carrick has spent the summer quietly tearing up and rewiring the centre of his team.
Youri Tielemans, signed for £35m, brings craft and control as a No 8. Andrey Santos, a holding midfielder who arrived for an initial £48m with a possible £2m in add-ons, offers bite and positional discipline.
Baleba is designed to lock it all together.
A natural No 6, he is being brought in as the midfield enforcer Carrick has wanted since last year. Even before a potential £5m in bonuses, his £65m fee makes him United’s biggest outlay of the summer and takes total spending on the trio to £148m.
Inside the club, there is satisfaction bordering on relief. United tried and failed to land the Cameroon star last summer, when Brighton were eyeing a figure closer to the £115m they banked from selling Moisés Caicedo to Chelsea in 2023. This time, United believe they have secured a player they know well, at a price they consider to be strong value in the current market.
Building the spine
Carrick has been open about where he believes successful teams are built: straight down the middle.
“I think it gives you the foundation of the team, you know,” he said recently, before the Baleba agreement was finalised. “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.”
Those words now land with extra weight. Tielemans for tempo. Santos for structure. Baleba to patrol and protect. Carrick is not just adding names; he is hardening the core.
If the medical goes smoothly, United’s midfield – long a problem area – suddenly looks like the clearest expression yet of their manager’s vision.
