Liverpool in contention to sign £87m Man Utd target as Red Devils soften stance on explosive deal | OneFootball

Liverpool’s interest in signing Carlos Baleba has been clarified by sources, while Manchester United’s stance on triggering Brighton’s hefty £87m asking price, as well as the Seagulls’ thoughts on a possible January transfer, have also come to light.

The Cameroon star first emerged on Manchester United‘s transfer radar last year when the Red Devils made enquiries to Brighton over the possibility of a deal. Seen as an ideal fit for Ruben Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation, the Old Trafford outfit walked away from a prospective deal owing to both Brighton’s hefty valuation, coupled with their own needs to focus on strengthening elsewhere.

Indeed, United ended up spending the best part of £230m (€265m, $310m) on the addition of three new attackers (Mathias Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko), while the addition of Senne Lammens in goal was also prioritised late in the window.

Despite putting that interest on the backburner, Baleba – currently away at the African Cup of Nations with Cameroon – has remained a player of serious interest to United, particularly in light of Fraser Fletcher’s report back in November that outlined the club’s plans to sign two to three new midfielders over the next few transfer windows and with captain Bruno Fernandes among those at risk.

Back in the summer, sources revealed Brighton had quoted United a fee in excess of £100m, using the example of their former star, Moises Caicedo, who has gone on to achieve big things with Chelsea, as the benchmark for such midfielder transactions.

And while the 22-year-old’s form has dipped this season, forcing the Seagulls to adjust their asking price, the fact that they still value the player at around the £87m (€100m, $117m) mark is still considered too high. To that end, sources are not expecting the Red Devils to make a fresh move in January, with the club expected instead to wait until the summer window before reassessing a possible move.

As a result, our transfer correspondent Dean Jones exclusively revealed on Friday that Brighton are expecting fresh approaches for the player’s services, with Liverpool now also rekindling their interest in Baleba, having previously been linked with him themselves in summer 2024.

Per Jones, the Seagulls have also been notified that Baleba is on the transfer radars of Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City, who are also now monitoring his situation. Bayern Munich are also known admirers.

Since our article was published, both Sky Sports and Caught Offside have published articles highlighting Liverpool’s interest….

What is Liverpool’s stance on signing Carlos Baleba?

Per Caught Offside, Liverpool are more than ready to rival United for Baleba amid an understanding at the Brighton end that ‘no one at the club realistically expects him to stay beyond the summer’.

The report adds that ‘there are teams who would ideally bring him in this January, but the message is that that won’t be possible’.

That is reflected by Jones’ report, which confirmed Brighton have little intention of lowering their valuation further to ignite a bidding war and are keen to retain the midfielder for now.

From a Liverpool end, we also understand the club are unlikely to sign a new midfielder at this moment in time.

The club’s priorities in January have focused on strengthening in central defence with Fabrizio Romano giving a deal for an Austrian teenager his trademark ‘Here we go’ confirmation.

Separate reports have claimed Liverpool are ‘set to sign’ fellow centre-half Joel Ordonez in a £40m deal from Club Brugge.

However, sources have informed our transfer insider Graeme Bailey that such speculation is wide of the mark.

We can confirm that Ordonez is on Liverpool’s shortlist as they seek defensive reinforcements, but no talks have taken place with Brugge yet.

The Reds are also keeping close tabs on Marc Guehi’s situation at Crystal Palace, though all the signs still point to a free transfer at the end of the season for the 25-year-old England defender.

Come the summer, the Reds could well look to strengthen in midfield, though with speculation surrounding the future of Mohamed Salah, signing his replacement, as well as pushing through a move for Guehi, is likely to be the top priority at Anfield.

Liverpool latest: Battle on for Champ left-back; Harvey Elliott move torched

Elsewhere, both Liverpool and United have made offers for a talented Sheffield Wednesday left-back, according to a report.

Liverpool, United and Newcastle United also all had scouts in attendance at Vicarage Road on Thursday to watch Watford starlet Othmane Maamma, we can reveal.

Finally, a proposed move to Major League Soccer for Harvey Elliott already looks to have hit the buffers, according to a trusted source, while TEAMtalk takes a look at what is next for the Liverpool outcast after Unai Emery made it crystal clear he has no future at Aston Villa.