Manchester United have secret weapon in £100m Carlos Baleba transfer chase after new twist

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·17 de outubro de 2025

Manchester United have secret weapon in £100m Carlos Baleba transfer chase after new twist

Brighton star and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton top list of Old Trafford targets for planned midfield rebuild

Bryan Mbeumo is “trying to convince” Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba to join him at Manchester United, according to new reports.

Vídeos OneFootball

Baleba has been heavily linked with a potential move to Old Trafford for several months now after his sustained fine form at the Amex Stadium, where he has gone from strength to strength since completing a £23million transfer from Lille in 2023.

United did not launch a swoop for the highly-rated 21-year-old over the summer as they focused instead mostly on retooling their attack under Ruben Amorim, eventually completing a £65m switch for Mbeumo from Brentford after a protracted saga.

However, it seems that strengthening in midfield will become a top priority for United - who managed to keep influential captain Bruno Fernandes from moving to Saudi Arabia - in the New Year, with the likes of Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo again linked with exits.

Baleba and Crystal Palace star Adam Wharton look to be their primary targets, with recent reports stating that Wharton had now moved above Baleba on the shortlist after his latest performances for Crystal Palace and renewed talk of a planned offer worth around £60m.

However, according to The Sun, Mbeumo is “quietly trying to convince” Cameroon team-mate Baleba to join him at United, who would apparently have to spend around £100m to pull off a high-profile transfer more likely to happen next summer than in the January window.

Mbeumo is said to be like a “big brother” to Baleba, with the duo having been international team-mates since Baleba made his senior Cameroon debut last year.

Both players featured for the Indomitable Lions in their final pair of World Cup qualifiers against Mauritius and Angola during the recent international break, with a one-legged CAF play-off semi-final tie to come against the DR Congo in Morocco next month.

Mbeumo and Baleba will be on opposing sides in the Premier League as soon as next weekend, when United, who travel to take on out-of-sorts rivals Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, host Brighton at Old Trafford. First, Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls entertain Newcastle on the south coast on Saturday.