Man Utd to accelerate £80m third midfield signing after agreeing personal terms | OneFootball

Manchester United are planning to add Carlos Baleba to Michael Carrick’s side next after striking deals for Ederson Silva and Andrey Santos, according to a report.

Andrey Santos will undergo a medical at Man Utd on Thursday, after the Red Devils’ co-owners, INEOS, struck a deal with Chelsea.

Man Utd, who will play in the Champions League next season under manager Michael Carrick, will pay Chelsea £50million for the Brazil international midfielder.

Fellow Brazil international midfielder Ederson Silva also has a deal in place with Man Utd.

Ederson has already undergone the first part of his medical and is due for the second at the Premier League giants.

Man Utd are on the hunt for a third midfielder and are now focusing on Brighton and Hove Albion star Baleba, according to journalist Ross Harwood.

Harwood, who has over 72,000 followers on X, has reported that Man Utd plan to accelerate talks with Brighton in the coming days.

Man Utd and Baleba have a deal in place over personal terms, with the Red Devils keen on signing the 22-year-old Cameroon international midfielder last summer.

Brighton will demand up to £80m for Baleba, according to the reporter.

Man Utd to open talks for Carlos Baleba

Harwood posted on X at 11:45pm on July 8: “Understand talks for Baleba are due to accelerate.

“Following the deals for Ederson and Santos, Man Utd are still looking their marquee’ signing and suitable replacement for Casemiro.

“Baleba remains a top target, with the player agreeing personal terms for a move to MU last summer.

“Brighton are expected to hold out for a deal in region of £70-80m.

“Talks to advance in the coming days.”

What are other sources saying about Man Utd and Carlos Baleba?

Harwood describes himself as an ‘Independent Football Journalist’, and exclusively covers Man Utd and posts regular updates on the club’s transfer targets.

The journalist is also followed by TEAMtalk’s transfer correspondent, Fraser Fletcher, as well as by former Tottenham Hotspur player Ramon Vega.

While Baleba is certainly a target for Man Utd, other sources, such as TEAMtalk, Fabrizio Romano and Ben Jacobs, have played down suggestions that a move from INEOS is imminent.

Transfer guru Romano said about Baleba on his YouTube channel this week: “For Baleba, at the moment, Man Utd are aware of the player’s desire.

“He would be super keen on joining Manchester United, but, at the moment, Utd have not returned with an approach or a proposal to Brighton.

“So, at the moment, the Baleba topic, I think, it’s a little bit cold.

“Then if the big topics, the big names and negotiations collapse, let’s see eventually what happens, but, at the moment, it’s just player’s big desire, and that’s it.”

Earlier this month, talkSPORT journalist Ben Jacobs said about Man Utd, Baleba and Brighton: “I sense they’ve got other targets ahead of Baleba.

“But it’s a deal they don’t really need to prioritise as much as others, because that is a scenario of a player who wants Man Utd, who has loose personal terms in place from last summer.

“So, if they want to do Baleba, they just have to go to Brighton.”