Carlos Baleba's anticipated move to Manchester United is facing significant obstacles, primarily due to an ankle injury that has complicated transfer negotiations. The Brighton midfielder, who had agreed personal terms, is now dealing with uncertainty as the injury could sideline him for an extended period. This development follows earlier difficulties in the transfer talks, which were initially stalled by Brighton's high valuation of the player. The club hierarchy's concerns about investing in an injured player are now a major factor in the potential deal's progression.

Carlos Baleba's anticipated move to Manchester United is facing significant obstacles, primarily due to an ankle injury that has complicated transfer negotiations. The Brighton midfielder, who had agreed personal terms, is now dealing with uncertainty as the injury could sideline him for an extended period. This development follows earlier difficulties in the transfer talks, which were initially stalled by Brighton's high valuation of the player. The club hierarchy's concerns about investing in an injured player are now a major factor in the potential deal's progression.

Carlos Baleba's anticipated move to Manchester United is facing significant obstacles, primarily due to an ankle injury that has complicated transfer negotiations. The Brighton midfielder, who had agreed personal terms, is now dealing with uncertainty as the injury could sideline him for an extended period. This development follows earlier difficulties in the transfer talks, which were initially stalled by Brighton's high valuation of the player. The club hierarchy's concerns about investing in an injured player are now a major factor in the potential deal's progression.

While Carlos Baleba is pushing to ensure a move to Manchester United happens before the summer transfer window shuts, things are not looking favourable, transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano said. The Brighton star, who is currently nursing an injury, is not expected to be back for a few months, which is said to be the reason behind United's U-turn.

Cameroon international Baleba sustained an ankle injury during pre-season and missed the friendly against Strasbourg. As per reports, he suffered an ankle ligament injury, and the possibility of the player being unavailable for a few months cannot be ruled out.

According to Fabrizio Romano, 22-year-old Baleba was hopeful of joining United ahead of the season. After failing to sign Mateus Fernandes, Alex Scott, Aurélien Tchouaméni, Elliot Anderson, and Eduardo Camavinga — all linked to the club strongly at some point — United was left with a handful of elite options, including Baleba.

It is no secret that United had agreed personal terms with Baleba before Brighton’s demand for a stupendous £100 million resulted in the deal breaking down.

It evidently reflected on the youngster's performance, and the Seagulls were forced to reduce their asking price. Yet he played 31 league games for the side, which qualified for the UEFA Conference League. Brighton's latest demand for the midfielder is £70 million, TeamTalk said in a report. It was in 2023 that the central defensive midfielder signed for the club from Lille.

While the sum was in tune with Manchester United's slogan of "affordable signings only", the injury seems to have complicated things. With European competition back, the club hierarchy is reportedly not positive about spending on a player who could well be sidelined for months.

“Injury for Carlos Baleba is making things more complicated... So Manchester United, at the moment, are not proceeding with the Carlos Baleba deal. The injury is not six or seven months, so it’s not a super long one, but it’s still an injury,” Romano reportedly said during a YouTube session.

“At the moment, for Manchester United, this could eventually be an issue, a problem, for the Carlos Baleba deal. So we have to consider that [transfer] as more complicated,” TeamTalk quoted him as saying.

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