Baleba Deal Within Reach for United if They Show Willing

Manchester United's summer midfield overhaul has hit the rocks repeatedly, but one route back to success could prove surprisingly straightforward.

The Red Devils have already watched three potential acquisitions slip through their fingers. Their reluctance to match Manchester City's £116m investment in Elliot Anderson proved costly. They baulked at the £85m in guaranteed payments demanded for Mateus Fernandes. And their unwillingness to stump up £100m for Sandro Tonali meant Tottenham swooped in instead, landing both him and Fernandes for £185m.

With those avenues closed, United are casting their net wider. Daily Mail correspondent Chris Wheeler has identified six players on their radar: Aurelien Tchouameni, Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton, Felix Nmecha, Tyler Adams and Alex Scott.

Yet according to trusted transfer insider Ben Jacobs, there's one option that requires minimal effort. Speaking on The United Stand, Jacobs suggested that Baleba represents an opportunity United can activate at will: "I sense they've got other targets ahead of Baleba. But it's a deal they don't really need to prioritise as much as others, because that is a scenario of a player who wants Man Utd, who has loose personal terms in place from last summer. So if they want to do Baleba, they just have to go to Brighton."

The groundwork was indeed laid twelve months ago when United agreed personal terms with the Brighton midfielder. The stumbling block then was Brighton's £100m asking price—a figure that proved prohibitive.

One might have expected that asking price to soften following Baleba's indifferent season on the south coast. Brighton, however, are showing no signs of budging. The Manchester Evening News reports that despite the 22-year-old's difficult campaign, the Seagulls show little appetite for discounting their valuation. In a market where midfielder fees have spiralled upwards, Brighton are holding firm.

This makes Baleba the third midfielder United have stepped away from in the past year due to inflated asking prices. There's been minimal movement from either party this summer, though United remain interested.

Should the transfer window drift on without reinforcements arriving and desperation begins to creep in, Baleba remains gettable. The deal is there to be done—it simply requires United to open their chequebook.