Manchester United have agreed personal terms with Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, with a five-year contract ready for the 22-year-old to sign once a fee is agreed between the clubs.
The Red Devils have tabled an offer worth £60 million plus an additional £5 million in performance-related add-ons, with discussions ongoing to finalise the deal.
The Cameroon international has agreed in principle to a contract that will keep him at Old Trafford until the summer of 2031. United are now closing in on a full agreement with Brighton, with the final fee and payment structure still being fine-tuned.
Baleba is set to become United’s third midfield signing of the summer, following the arrivals of Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48 million and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35 million. The trio brings a complete overhaul of Michael Carrick’s engine room, with the club investing approximately £150 million to address a long-standing weakness in the squad.
The move comes after United failed in their pursuit of other midfield targets earlier in the window. United had first targeted Baleba 12 months ago and are fully aware of his abilities. The price has dropped significantly from last summer’s £100 million valuation, making the deal more attainable.
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Berbatov: ‘Smart Business’
Former United striker Dimitar Berbatov has praised the club’s approach, contrasting it with the trend of spending enormous sums on single superstars. “In a world where clubs are spending hundreds of millions on one or two big names, Manchester United are finally doing something that makes sense,” Berbatov said.
“You have Tielemans with the intelligence and passing, Santos with the energy and ability to arrive in the box, and Baleba bringing the physicality and aggression. These are not signings made just for headlines. They are players who can grow together and give United a midfield for years.”
Berbatov concluded: “This is how you build a team. You don’t always need to spend £150m on one superstar and hope he fixes everything. Sometimes you spend £150m on three players who solve three different problems. Manchester United, this is business. Smart business.”
The 22-year-old made 35 appearances for Brighton last season as a defensive midfielder. He is expected to provide physicality and aggression in the centre of the park, complementing the creative intelligence of Tielemans and the box-to-box energy of Santos.
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