David Tully Aug 12th 2025
Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba could be set for a “record” transfer to Man United, according to journalist Nabil Djellit.
The France Football reporter claims he has heard “behind the scenes” that the 21-year-old could become the most expensive player in the history of African football, with a fee of around €130m (£112m) being discussed.
Fans on X are pretty sceptical about Djellit’s comments, with many believing that the price mentioned is simply too high for the Red Devils:
Can’t happen
— THE TRUTH (@martin_muraythi) August 11, 2025
Whattt? 😨
Come on it’s too much nah.
— BEX_OKEZ (@CAMG_OKEZ) August 11, 2025
80 or 90 max is okay for him please
— Jonathan iyke (@jonathaniykeee) August 11, 2025
United is not gonna pay 112 mil..go away!
— Micha Lartinez (@YOUnitedX) August 11, 2025
Pay it, don’t care, he solves our biggest area of weakness and gives us 10 years without having to worry about that position. All our rivals have broken the £100 million barrier for a player so there’s no shame in it. Get it done.
— Mike (@Mike87_United) August 11, 2025
Wow is it time to look for an alternative or is he really that good?
— United 🔴⚪️⚫️ (@mcsause2019) August 11, 2025
Funds would need to be raised to sign Baleba
Some have suggested that United can receive close to £100m if they manage to sell Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund in the next few weeks, but that seems pretty far-fetched.
Those two players, along with Jadon Sancho, Antony and Tyrell Malacia, could raise significant funds to finance a move for Baleba, but a lot still needs to happen before such a massive bid is made for the Cameroon international
What is the current African record transfer fee?
The £72m that Arsenal paid Lille for Nicolas Pepe in 2019 is the most that any team has paid for an African footballer.
Of course, if the Red Devils do end up paying significantly more than that for Baleba, they will be hoping that he is a more successful signing than Pepe was.
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.
