For now, it looks as though Manchester United have put their interest in Carlos Baleba on the back burner.
Brighton and Hove Albion’s reluctance to sell means the Red Devils would need to submit a proposal in excess of £100 million to even enter formal negotiations and, after an already high-spending summer, a deal is looking increasingly unfeasible.
It remains to be seen if an alternative will be pursued before deadline day – or whether the side’s opening day defeat to Arsenal has prompted any movement from INEOS on the market.
Why United set their sights on Carlos Baleba
Baleba certainly posed as the ideal candidate, though.
With two seasons’ worth of Premier League experience under his belt at 21 years old, he is expected to become one of the most sought-after talents in Europe next year, which is thought to be part of the reason United were keen to facilitate his arrival sooner rather than later.
Brighton know more than anyone just how stellar a player they have in their ranks, so they could well increase their asking price come the end of the campaign – assuming his performances are as consistent as they have been up to this point.
The Match of the Day panel previously hailed Baleba as ‘absolutely wonderful’.
Laurie Whitwell provides insight into Baleba talks
One considerable factor that is poised to go in United’s favour if they do make an official approach is that Baleba himself has privately green-lit the move to Old Trafford. Out of respect for the Seagulls, he isn’t going as far as forcing a premature exit this summer, but is said to be fully open to the transfer if an agreement is reached between all parties.
Today, in the latest release of the Talk of the Devils podcast, Laurie Whitwell shed some light on the discussions held between United and Brighton in recent days, and whether INEOS ‘pulling out’ is something of a tactic.
Whitwell responded: “I don’t get that feeling. They’ve had club-to-club talks now as well, so there’s been a courtesy call from United to Brighton to say, ‘we’re not going to pursue this one and leave it there.’ Whether it’s that they appreciate he’s not for sale or whatever price a sale would have looked like.
“I think there was a point in the negotiations where the Joao Pedro money (£55 million + £5 million) was raised as a possible fee and clearly Brighton have said no, it’s going to be more than that. That’s where we’re at with it.”
