Manchester United land Carlos Baleba from Brighton in £65m-plus midfield rebuild
Manchester United have completed a deal for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba, with the 22-year-old Cameroon international left free to undergo his medical at Old Trafford BBC Sport.
United will pay an initial £65m, plus a potential £5m in add-ons BBC Sport. Brighton also negotiated a sell-on clause — meaning they'll pocket a percentage of any future transfer fee if Baleba moves on again, a standard safeguard for selling clubs.
The deal didn't come cheap, and it didn't come quickly. United's opening offer was £60m plus £5m in add-ons, a package Brighton were expected to knock back The Athletic. Brighton had been holding out for around £70m BBC Sport, and Sky Sports reported the two sides were close to a full agreement but still haggling over the final structure Sky Sports. The eventual £65m base fee lands roughly in the middle.
United had poked around Baleba a year earlier, only to retreat when a price north of £100m was floated BBC Sport. Brighton's chief executive, Paul Barber, had publicly insisted the midfielder wasn't for sale back in January 2025 Brighton & Hove Albion. Eighteen months on, the stance softened — or the price became too good to refuse.
Baleba's stock has risen steadily since he arrived on the south coast. He won the Premier League Goal of the Month award for April 2025 Brighton & Hove Albion, sharing the shortlist with teammate Yasin Ayari Brighton & Hove Albion. A midfielder who can score the sort of goal that wins a monthly award is the sort of midfielder United have been missing.
The transfer follows United's earlier summer arrivals of Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa BBC Sport. Three midfielders in one window is a clear signal: the engine room was getting an overhaul.
What makes Baleba the centrepiece is his age. At 22, he has Premier League experience, international caps for Cameroon, and his best years ahead of him. Santos is 21; Tielemans, 28, brings the know-how. Between the three of them, United have addressed the present and the future in one window.
Brighton, for their part, do what Brighton do: develop a player, hold firm on valuation, and walk away with a deal that funds the next one. The sell-on clause is the club's signature — protecting the upside even after the player leaves.
For United fans, the message is straightforward. The midfield has been the weakest part of the team for too long. Three signings in one summer, capped by a £65m-plus deal for a player Brighton once valued at nine figures, is the clearest indication yet that the rebuild is serious.
