Man Utd make Baleba transfer decision amid 'clear' Brighton stance with 'personal terms not a problem'

Manchester United have given up on signing Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba this summer, per David Ornstein.

The 21-year-old emerged as a top midfield target for United earlier this month, making initial contacts through intermediaries.

The two Premier League clubs then held talks, but there has been no breakthrough as Brighton want around £100million for the Cameroonian.

Baleba would be an outstanding signing for the Red Devils, but a deal appears dead in the water, for now, anyway.

United could revisit the young midfielder in the future, but Ornstein, writing for The Athletic, says they ‘are not planning to proceed with a move before the transfer window closes’.

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Indeed, it’s claimed that Baleba was the Red Devils’ ‘top target’ for the No.6 position and they ‘held preliminary conversations about a deal’.

Ornstein confirms that Brighton have ‘made it clear’ they don’t want to sell Baleba this summer and intend on keeping him for ‘at least another season’.

What the Seagulls have indicated Baleba would cost is ‘beyond what United are willing to pay’ right now, which means a deal ‘will not materialise’.

Despite the transfer not proceeding, ‘Old Trafford appeals to Baleba’, who will ‘keep pushing’ for the move, with ‘personal terms presenting no problem’.

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The report adds:

That does not suggest he is unhappy at Brighton and the dialogue has been cordial, with United respecting their stance. There is also an acceptance at United that while they admire Baleba and the interest remains strong, he has only two Premier League campaigns under his belt and is still developing. United have already invested heavily on two players at peak age, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo, and an emerging talent in Benjamin Sesko.

Fabrizio Romano has also added that United will move on to other targets. He wrote on X: “Manchester United made official and formal contact with Brighton today for Carlos Baleba, as expected.

“Clear answer from #BHAFC: no intention to sell, not even indicating a price for this summer. Man United now expected to turn attention to different targets.”

The Seagulls have sold Joao Pedro, Simon Adingra and Pervis Estupinan this summer, and have loaned out Evan Ferguson to AS Roma.

Their incomings, meanwhile, include Charalampos Kostoulas, Diego Coppola, Maxime De Cuyper and Olivier Boscagli.

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