Manchester United are very close to signing Carlos Baleba from Brighton — ending the "third midfielder of the summer" saga, multiple reports say. The Cameroonian has long been linked with a move to United, but the move never materialised as the two teams never reached a middle ground on the transfer sum.
United had agreed personal terms with Baleba last summer before Brighton’s demand for a stupendous £100 million resulted in the deal breaking down.
According to the latest reports, United are willing to pay about £65 million for the CDM. This is realistically close to Brighton’s demands. According to reliable European media sources, the sum that the Seagulls hope to receive by selling the midfielder is around £70 million.
It was earlier reported that Manchester United have already agreed personal terms with the 22-year-old, just as at the start of last season. However, Baleba's fitness concerns might force United to walk away from a deal, reports have said. But as things stand, it is most likely that the LOSC Lille academy product will get to don the famous red shirt.
“Negotiations were ongoing in the last 24 hours again for Carlos Baleba. As of tonight, there is still no agreement between Manchester United and Brighton, but they will be in contact again in the next few hours,” noted transfer expert and journalist Fabrizio Romano reportedly said on YouTube.
“There is a conversation about the deal, the structure of the deal, including the add-ons. So the deal is absolutely on for Carlos Baleba to join Manchester United. The conversation continues. Manchester United are optimistic to get one more,” TEAMtalk quoted him as further saying.
