Man Utd given ‘renewed belief’ of midfield signing as price drop is hinted at: ‘No issues’ | OneFootball

Man Utd have renewed hope that they can get a deal over the line for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba in the summer, according to reports.

The Red Devils spent over £200m on new signings last summer with the aim to improve their attacking options, while bringing in a goalkeeper to replace Andre Onana.

They achieved that with the signings of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Senne Lammens, but many fans weren’t happy that they neglected their midfield.

Man Utd‘s midfield had been a clear weakness for much of the season and, although the Red Devils made enquiries for Brighton’s Baleba and Conor Gallagher, INEOS decided to wait until the coming summer to improve that area of their side.

The Red Devils have been linked with numerous names in recent months but they keep circling back to similar names with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton and Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali all mooted as possible additions.

And now Theatre Of Red are claiming that there is ‘a growing belief’ at Man Utd that Baleba will sign for the Red Devils in the summer transfer window with ‘no issues’ expected on personal terms.

The report adds that Man Utd and Brighton were around £50m apart in their valuations last summer but there is now ‘a renewed belief in sealing the player’s signature this summer with a fee far closer to internal valuations.’

It is understood that, despite Baleba’s form suffering this season, ‘internal dossiers tick the required criteria for United’s recruitment team, and agreement remains regarding the 22-year-old’s suitability’.

In February, Baleba insists he is starting to feel “more relaxed” this season after a poor start and constant transfer speculation about his future at Brighton.

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Baleba told Sky Sports: “I feel more relaxed now. The noise about me outside, I didn’t understand. I didn’t look on the websites. I’m more focused on me, myself and for my team-mates.”

On where he needs to improve, Baleba added: “All my qualities, I need to improve on that. The most of the qualities I have is I need to enjoy more football, because when I play, I’m so serious that I want to do the right thing or to do the proper thing on the pitch.”

When asked what advice he’s received from coaching staff, he continued: “All of them told me to be free, to be relaxed and just enjoy and think about football.”