Manchester United had a good summer transfer window; however, not every position prioritised saw an addition.
Heading into the window, Manchester United needed a handful of positions upgraded, with the attack being considered a top priority.
To bolster this position, United signed Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko, an entirely new front three.
Additionally, United solved the goalkeeping department issue with Senne Lammens looking like a proper number one for the Red Devils on his debut.
However, Ruben Amorim missed out on an addition in one position, which is now the main weakness for United, but it wasn’t through a lack of effort.
Fabian Hurzeler admits Brighton had big offers on the table last summer
In the summer, United made attempts to sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton, with the Cameroon international seen as the obvious option to upgrade in midfield.
Baleba is seen as United’s top target in 2026; however, the price tag could be an issue, as the 22-year-old was valued at around £100m last summer.
While United didn’t make the signing, there were talks, and now Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler has spoken on ‘The 2 Robbies’ podcast about receiving big offers last summer, which could be in reference to United and Baleba.
“We always try to find a strong team. And besides that, I think that the club also showed in the last window that we don’t accept every offer. So we also had big offers for other players and other important players, but we stayed stable.
“We stayed in all we want to keep the players with us. So overall, as a conclusion, for me, there’s a big belief and a big trust in this very data-approached recruitment.”
Hurzeler might be pleased that he kept the midfielder, but Baleba has had a bad season for Brighton, meaning it might have been a blessing in disguise for United.
Carlos Baleba has had difficult start to the Premier League season
After such an impressive year last season, the Brighton midfielder hasn’t had as good a start this campaign.
Despite this difficult start, United still has complete interest in Baleba, believing his form has been impacted by injury and distraction due to links with the Red Devils.
Hurzeler admitted the United links have distracted Baleba last month, which is a mental issue that the Cameroonian will have to overcome if he is to successfully make the step up next summer.
With the injury also playing a part, it won’t be long until United are being impressed by Baleba once again.
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