What Carlos Baleba did against Man Utd could have clinched long-awaited transfer

MANCHESTER UNITED’S long game with Carlos Baleba is approaching the endgame.

When United enquired about Baleba last August there was no realistic chance of them signing him. The club lacked the headroom and had no room to accommodate a defensive midfielder valued at £100million.

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But Baleba’s head was turned. He was in and out of the Brighton team and did not start against United on the final day of last season.

In the reverse fixture, Baleba was hooked in the 59th minute with Brighton 2-0 down. He was on Africa Cup of Nations duty for their 2-1 victory at United in the FA Cup.

Dream Team is back, free, and there’s £100,000 up for grabs!

The obvious reason for United leaving it so late with Baleba, currently nursing an ankle injury, is that he was not their first choice.

Aurelien Tchouameni was available and United touched base with Real Madrid again last month. They never followed-up their enquiry with a bid.

While Tchouameni’s asking price could have been similar to Baleba’s, the France international would have commanded a much higher salary.

United have taken measures to revamp their wage structure after the indulgent eras of former power brokers Ed Woodward and Richard Arnold. It is why it privately rankles with the hierarchy that Marcus Rashford, who last played for United 20 months ago, is the highest earner.

Baleba’s valuation is nowhere near the steep nine figures Brighton wanted for him 12 months ago. Twenty-three starts from 38 in the Premier League and four half-time withdrawals drove the price well down.

Cynics might wonder whether United waited for Baleba to be injured to submit a bid, on the off-chance his fee dropped a little more.

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United have reined in their spending this summer and that has long been overdue. They were always going to have to fork out a sizeable fee on an outright defensive midfielder and are about to.

Crucially, Baleba has Premier League experience, which Tchouameni doesn’t. So do Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.

The other domestic-based midfielders still on the market (Alex Scott and Adam Wharton) are better footballers than Baleba. Baleba is a specialist defensive midfielder, which is what United need, and there is no English tax.

Overhauling the midfield has not been an entirely smooth process for United. The collapse of the Ederson deal did not reflect favourably on them and the Tielemans move was opportunistic. The 29-year-old is well outside United’s preferred age range of 22-26. Baleba and Santos are 22.

That Michael Carrick does not call the shots on transfers was already apparent and the choice of Baleba is further confirmation. Director of football Jason Wilcox privately likened himself to the ‘manager’ – which irked Ruben Amorim – and he is predominantly accountable for signings.

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Carrick is more compliant than Amorim and will have known the lay of the land when he signed a permanent contract in May. After Erik ten Hag’s Dutch-centric windows, United have finally drawn a line under their manager having the final say on signings.

This is the structure Ineos implemented and it worked last year. For all the online fan histrionics, United have gone about their business prudently and could still end up nearing the £200m mark.

They will end the window with the three midfield incomings they needed. Baleba, Santos, Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo, perhaps the most vital investment in that area this calendar year, is a rounded quartet.

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Baleba barely concealed his desire to join United even when on Brighton duty at the Amex in May. He made a beeline for Matheus Cunha at full-time and seemed so attached to the Brazilian you wondered whether he would follow him into the away dressing room.

A player actually wanting to join United cannot be underestimated. Benjamin Sesko decided on United over Newcastle after he pulled on a shirt the club had gifted him as part of their pitch.

He will join a dressing room with plenty of allies. Bryan Mbeumo is a compatriot and Leny Yoro was Baleba’s teammate at Lille. Andre Onana had endorsed a move for his international teammate before United jettisoned him.

This correspondent wrote back in June that the “smart move” would be to invest the £100m-odd United did not spend on Elliot Anderson on Baleba and Scott.

United moved on from Scott when Santos was available for an up-front £48m. Scott, still at Bournemouth, is priced at £80m.

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Santos is the more modest of the two midfielders but may turn out to be the wiser choice. From United’s perspective, the numbers stack up.

It was high time that United plundered Brighton. Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham all have. Manchester City tried to with Marc Cucurella in 2022.

United could have signed Moises Caicedo in January 2021. They pretended to be in for him as they haggled with Chelsea over a fee for Mason Mount in 2023.

They have settled for his direct replacement in Baleba. It has been a long game.

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