Benni McCarthy Names The “Beast” He Thinks Would Be The “Ideal” Replacement for Casemiro In Man United’s Midfield

BACK David Tully Oct 29th 2025 Former Man United coach Benni McCarthy believes the Red Devils should step up their pursuit of Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba. Ruben Amorim’s side were heavily linked with the Cameroon international during the last transfer window and asked by BestBettingSites.co.uk who he would sign in January, McCarthy replied: “I think Carlos Baleba from Brighton. I think United needs more muscle. They need legs. They need power. And Baleba would be perfect. Alongside Kobbie, Casemiro, he’d be ideal with either of them. With Mainoo, both of them are so young, the future could not get any brighter. That would be my ideal.” “They need explosiveness. They need a beast in that midfield because Casimiro is now past his best. He’s aging, so the club needs to start thinking about life after Casimiro, when he eventually leaves Man United, and then he leaves the team in capable hands.” Brighton won’t sell Baleba in January Unless Ruben Amorim’s side are willing to pay in excess of £100m, it seems unlikely that the Seagulls will agree to offload the midfielder midway through the season. Reports suggest that owner Tony Bloom is keen to wait until next summer when he believes that there will be more competition for Baleba’s signature, which could help jack up the price. Will Man United target another player? Despite some positive results in recent weeks, there is a good case for the club strengthening in the middle of the park when the transfer window reopens. Several options have been suggested. A loan offer for Atletico Madrid’s Conor Gallagher has been mentioned, with the Red Devils having also tried to sign him on a temporary basis back in August. Borussia Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham, Sporting Lisbon’s Morten Hjulmand, Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, Chelsea’s Andrey Santos and Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson are also on the club’s radar. Read more about the Manchester United First Team Squad for 2025/26 here David Tully David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World’s Football News Network.