Manchester United Pursue Fifth Summer Signing with Baleba Deal Looming
Manchester United open their Premier League campaign at Hull City on Saturday, but the real noise around Old Trafford is still coming from the transfer market.
Michael Carrick, now permanent in the dugout after steering United back into the Champions League as interim boss, could hand debuts to multiple new arrivals at the MKM Stadium. Youri Tielemans, snapped up from Aston Villa, and Andrey Santos, recruited from Chelsea, are both pushing hard to start.
And they may not be the last fresh faces to walk into Carrington this month.
Baleba close – and then a left-back
United are working to wrap up a deal for Carlos Baleba, with the midfielder lined up as their next senior signing of the summer. There are still details to iron out on that move, as reported by MEN Sport, but the expectation inside the club is clear: once Baleba is over the line, attention swings straight to left-back.
Luke Shaw remains the undisputed first-choice on that flank. The problem is the calendar. Champions League football is back, domestic demands are relentless, and United know they cannot lean on Shaw alone across four competitions.
So the search is on.
Lewis Hall, now at Newcastle after his Chelsea breakthrough, has emerged as a prominent target. Jorge Salinas is another name on the list. Alejandro Balde has also been mentioned in connection with United this week, underlining how seriously the club is treating the position.
Newcastle’s stance on Hall is the stumbling block. They have taken a firm line and shown no willingness so far to compromise. Unless that changes, United may have to bide their time or move decisively for one of the two Spaniards, who could quickly jump to the front of the queue if the Hall pursuit stalls.
Either way, the plan is set: Baleba in, then a left-back as the fifth senior arrival of the window.
Arteta shuts door on Lewis-Skelly
One avenue, though, looks firmly closed.
Myles Lewis-Skelly had been linked with a shock move away from Arsenal, with both United and Chelsea credited with interest in the highly rated teenager. Any hopes of United swooping in have been abruptly checked by Mikel Arteta.
The Arsenal manager was emphatic, insisting Lewis-Skelly will “100 per cent” still be at the Emirates Stadium when the transfer window shuts. That stance effectively kills talk of an Old Trafford switch for the England youth international.
Arteta went further, underlining exactly why Arsenal are so protective of their academy products.
“The players that have been raised in our system, and they feel generally that love and that connection with the club, bring something else, there's no question about that,” he said. “We need to look after them in a really special way because they bring value that is very difficult to find.
“That's why, when we can, we want to protect those assets as much as possible, develop them and make them extremely important for the club.”
For United, that means refocusing on deals they can actually do. Baleba first. A left-back next. And then, with Carrick’s side back under the Premier League spotlight this weekend, the real test begins: whether this reshaped squad can match the club’s transfer ambition on the pitch.
