Just in: Man Utd drop interest in EPL midfielder who was their top target

Manchester United have all but abandoned their pursuit of Brighton midfielder enforcer Carlos Baleba.Last season, Ruben Amorim sought a new holding midfielder to add some depth to the department behind Casemiro, especially since his former Sporting pupil Manuel Ugarte was no longer a convincing option.DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL STRETTY NEWS APP FOR ALL THE LATEST UPDATES & BREAKING NEWS – STRAIGHT TO YOUR PHONE! ON APPLE & GOOGLE PLAYMan Utd identified Baleba as the first and almost solitary target for the central midfielder role. However, they decided to delay the chase, as Brighton insisted on collecting a transfer fee north of £100 million.Man United cool off interest in Carlos BalebaLess than a year later, many aspects have changed on this front. For a start, Amorim is no longer United’s head coach. The Portuguese manager was sacked in January following a public outburst, and was replaced by Michael Carrick, who initially arrived as an interim coach but has recently been confirmed in a permanent role after leading the club to a satisfying third-place finish in the Premier League.Want more Stretty News coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trustMoreover, Baleba’s performances regressed this season compared to the 2024/25 campaign. Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler often dropped him from his starting lineup, while admitting that the Cameroonian may have been distracted by Man Utd’s interest. Percentiles Duel% Poss won Prog carries Fwd passes Fwd pass% Key passes Prog passes Minutes Baleba (24/25) 43.3 73.0 80.1 34.2 58.2 30.5 49.3 2924 Baleba (25/26) 83.8 87.9 45.1 12.3 9.3 4.4 7.7 1793 https://datamb.football/midfielders/But according to The Sun’s correspondent, Katherine Walsh, the 22-year-old could pay the price for his underwhelming campaign, as United’s interest in him has cooled off.At this stage, it remains unclear if the Seagulls are still holding out for £100 million or have instead lowered their asking price. But either way, the journalist insists that the gap between the two clubs’ valuations remains significant, so MUFC will simply look elsewhere.Man Utd’s midfield plans for the summer of 2026After parting ways with Casemiro and placing Manuel Ugarte on the transfer list, Man Utd are supposedly after three new midfielders.Therefore, INEOS aren’t planning to waste any time. They are reportedly on the cusp of finalising the transfer of Atalanta’s Ederson. The 26-year-old Brazilian will cost them nearly £35 million.Needless to say, Ederson won’t be United’s marquee midfield signing, but apparently, neither is Baleba, who has been cast aside in favour of more appealing targets for Carrick and Jason Wilcox.Man Utd are reportedly making progress in their attempts to recruit West Ham youngster Mateus Fernandes, whose price tag is around £75 million.Nevertheless, Elliot Anderson remains the ultimate dream, even though Manchester City’s competition and Nottingham Forest’s £120 million asking price have complicated matters for INEOS.Aurelien Tchouameni could be the main alternative for the Englishman, but it remains unclear if Real Madrid will be open to selling the Frenchman this summer.