Journalist: Manchester United eye late left back deal after £70m move | OneFootball

Manchester United Transfer Latest: Carlos Baleba Arrives as Michael Carrick Faces Pressure Before Deadline

Manchester United have reached that familiar point in a transfer window where one significant deal changes the mood, but not necessarily the wider concern. As The Athletic outlined in its latest DealSheet, United have finally moved decisively for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, yet the feeling around Old Trafford remains tense, uncertain and full of questions.

That is because this is not a club shopping from a position of comfort. United have started the new Premier League season with a damaging 2-0 defeat at Hull City, they are still short in key positions, and there is a growing sense that every decision made in the final days of the window carries extra weight.

The headline is clear enough. United “finally moved for Carlos Baleba”, a year after first looking into the deal, and by Friday an agreement was in place with Brighton worth “a guaranteed £65million, with £5m more in potential add-ons and a sell-on clause”. It is a sizeable outlay, a serious statement and, in truth, a necessary one.

Baleba had his medical in Manchester over the weekend, has agreed personal terms and signed the paperwork, with confirmation expected imminently. On the surface, it looks like a classic United move for a player with athleticism, upside and Premier League experience. Dig a little deeper, though, and it becomes more interesting, because Baleba is being asked to solve a problem that has dogged United for too long.

Carlos Baleba deal brings much-needed midfield energy

United’s midfield has too often lacked power, mobility and that ability to eat up ground quickly. The report makes the point that Baleba offers “a different profile to the midfielders currently at Old Trafford” and that his “explosive ball-carrying, ground coverage and tackling” should add something fresh to the mix.

That feels important. There are moments when United’s midfield can look tidy enough on paper, especially with players such as Kobbie Mainoo involved, but games in the Premier League are not won on theory. They are won in second balls, transitions, recovery runs and duels. Baleba appears built for exactly those moments.

There is also a tactical logic to the move. According to The Athletic, his left-footedness “means he should be able to cover areas on that side of the pitch when Luke Shaw pushes on”. That is the sort of detail United have not always got right in recruitment. A signing should not simply add quality, he should make the team function better. Baleba looks as if he can do that.

Yet there is caution in the reporting too, and it is worth heeding. Baleba “had a disappointing 2025-26” and is also recovering after “an ankle ligament injury a fortnight ago”. That matters. United supporters will want impact now, not in six weeks, and it would be unfair to expect a player still building sharpness to carry a malfunctioning midfield on his own.

Michael Carrick will have to integrate him carefully. The report suggests Baleba can fit with any of Carrick’s deeper midfield options and may be a natural partner for more than one existing player. That versatility has real value. United have needed legs and authority in the centre of the pitch. They may now have them. Whether that is enough remains another matter entirely.

Left-back search shows Manchester United are not finished

If Baleba is the big move, then the left-back situation is the clearest sign that United’s business is still incomplete. The Athletic says the club are “still surveying left-back options”, with Jorge Salinas under discussion and Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde also being considered.

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This is where the mood around the club sharpens. United are clearly aware the squad remains unbalanced. Injuries, form and lack of certainty in defensive areas have left them exposed too often, and left-back has become one of those positions where a problem can quickly infect the rest of the team.

Salinas, the Racing Santander player, has a release clause of €16million, which makes him financially attractive. But Atletico Madrid are already in talks, and that immediately raises the possibility that United are monitoring more than controlling. Balde is the more glamorous option, the more recognisable name, and also the more complicated one.

Barcelona manager Hansi Flick left Balde out of the squad for their opener and said: “I spoke with Balde and told him that, in my opinion, he is not 100 per cent ready. That he should sort out his thoughts, and then we will discuss it.” That is the kind of quote that gets market watchers moving quickly, and United are clearly attentive.

But there is a catch. Barcelona are open to a sale, with a mooted fee of around €45million, and United are “cautious over any further spending”. In other words, this may be a market opportunity in theory more than practice. The suggestion is that United would prefer a loan arrangement, partly because it keeps costs down and partly because it preserves a future run at Lewis Hall next summer.

That is sensible, but supporters have heard variations on sensible before. Smart planning is welcome, but so is immediate action. If a squad weakness is obvious in August, waiting until next summer can feel like a luxury few managers get.

Hall, for now, looks out of reach. Newcastle head coach Matthias Jaissle was emphatic, saying there is “no chance” the left-back leaves before the deadline. It is a blunt response, and perhaps one United needed to hear. They can admire all they want, but admiration alone does not fill a problem position.

Old Trafford pressure grows after Hull defeat

Transfers always look different after a result like the one at Hull. The report describes it as “a very disappointing display”, and there is no point dressing that up. United lost 2-0 to promoted opposition in their opening game, and that instantly changes the temperature around everyone.

It places more pressure on Carrick, more scrutiny on recruitment and more urgency on the week ahead. A win would have bought patience. A defeat like that invites noise. It also explains why the Baleba deal feels important beyond the player himself. United needed to show movement, direction and intent.

There are smaller developments worth noting too. Academy players Habeeb Ogunneye and James Scanlon are heading to Arsenal, with United keeping “significant sell-on clauses” in both deals. Ethan Wheatley has agreed a season-long Championship loan to Lincoln City. Harry Amass and Toby Collyer are also attracting interest from Championship clubs.

That is the normal churn of a modern elite club, but it also reflects a balancing act. United are trying to reshape the first-team squad while making decisions on a generation of younger players who need football, clarity and pathways. It is all part of the same test, and all of it is judged more harshly when first-team results wobble.

The broader financial picture from The Athletic also adds context. United’s quieter summer becomes easier to understand when viewed against recent spending, with the report noting they spent “£273m in 2024-25”. That previous investment hangs over every decision now. It is why United cannot simply attack every market opportunity. They have spent big before. Now they need to spend right.

Baleba may prove exactly that, a dynamic midfielder recruited at the right moment for the right need. But he cannot be the final answer to a squad that still has unresolved issues at left-back and possibly up front. Nor can he erase the unease generated by that opening-day defeat.

The next few days, then, feel huge. United have made one important move. They may need one or two more. More than anything, they need coherence, because this is a club where the gap between one encouraging signing and another anxious season can close very quickly.

Our View

As a nervous Manchester United supporter, this report feels encouraging and worrying in equal measure. Baleba is a good signing on paper, maybe a very good one, because the midfield has cried out for legs, power and drive for ages. You read “explosive ball-carrying, ground coverage and tackling” and think, yes, that is exactly what this team has been missing. But then you remember the Hull game, remember how poor United looked, and you start wondering whether one midfield signing can really change the mood.

The left-back situation is the bit that makes me most uneasy. United always seem to have one area of the pitch held together by hope rather than certainty. If Lewis Hall is unavailable and Balde is too expensive, then what is the actual plan? Waiting for next summer sounds sensible in a boardroom, but supporters live in the present and the present already looks shaky.