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Manchester United are not planning to proceed with a move for Carlos Baleba before the transfer window closes.
The 21-year-old Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder has been United’s top target to strengthen in the No. 6 position and they held preliminary conversations about a deal.
Talks initially took place with Brighton via intermediaries on behalf of United, before the clubs had a direct conversation.
Brighton made clear they do not intend to sell Baleba this summer and plan to retain him for at least another season.
The level of money they have indicated it would take to consider a deal — around the £115million Chelsea spent on Moises Caicedo — is beyond what United are willing to pay in the current market.
It is anticipated, therefore, that a deal now will not materialise.
Moving to Old Trafford appeals to Baleba so personal terms would have presented no problem — and the Cameroon international is prepared to keep pushing, even if it means waiting until the future.
That does not suggest he is unhappy at Brighton and the dialogue has been cordial, with United respecting their stance.
There is also an acceptance at United that while they admire Baleba and the interest remains strong, he has only two Premier League campaigns under his belt and is still developing.
United have already invested heavily on two players at peak age, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, and an emerging talent in Benjamin Sesko.
While there is internal satisfaction at the inbound business to date, they want to be financially disciplined and a significant amount of work also needs to be done on departures.
Baleba made 40 appearances in all competitions for Brighton last season, scoring four goals and providing two assists, as he emerged as one of the most highly-rated players in his position.
He joined Brighton from French club Lille in August 2023 in a transfer worth just under £26m with add-ons and has gone on to make 77 appearances for the south coast side.
Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra and Pervis Estupinan have all left Brighton permanently this summer, joining Chelsea, Sunderland and Milan respectively, while striker Evan Ferguson has signed for Roma on loan.
On the incomings front, Fabian Hurzeler’s team have secured the arrivals of Charalampos Kostoulas, Diego Coppola, Maxime De Cuyper and Olivier Boscagli.
Do Man Utd need to sign a midfielder this summer?
Analysis by Manchester United correspondent Carl Anka
United fans will be disheartened to hear Carlos Baleba will not be joining up with Ruben Amorim, but a prohibitively high transfer fee made such a deal difficult to complete.
Amorim has been relaxed when asked about the need for further midfield recruitment, even offering Mason Mount as a possible option for a deeper box-to-box role should the situation require it.
“We have players to cope and win games in the Premier League,” the head coach said in his most recent press conference on Friday afternoon, but United do not have an abundance of athletic, combative midfielders when compared to their top six rivals.
Manuel Ugarte and Casemiro have the appetite for tackling, but the former is a limited passer, while the latter is 33 years of age and in need of a capable understudy.
Amorim ideally wants the central midfielders in his 3-4-3 to be proactive defenders, able to cover large areas of space. Good athleticism is a base requirement, and Amorim appreciates midfielders who can progress play quickly through long passes.
Are there any players remaining in Europe who can fit the bill? Here’s an Athletic-created shortlist from late June.
(Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)