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Manchester United are reportedly on the verge of making another big move. Keeping their plans under wraps, it has been another pleasant surprise for supporters to see that the club is closing in on a third midfield addition during the offseason. The target is Carlos Baleba, for whom Brighton have received an initial offer of £60 million plus £5 million in add-ons. Even if the Seagulls reject that opening offer, concrete interest indicates a vision with the player in mind. What would Baleba bring to Manchester United? INEOS have conducted their reconstruction of the Manchester United squad in stages, and the acquisition of Baleba would be the next logical step in a project that has taken massive strides. The Red Devils jumped from 15th position to the top three in the Premier League largely thanks to their improvement in both boxes. Senne Lammens gives assurance as the shot stopper, while Bryan Mbeumo, Benjamin Sesko and Matheus Cunha all contributed double-digit goals at the other end of the field. But it was a struggle to stitch the midfield together, and even when Michael Carrick found a functional trio, it was then ripped apart with the departure of Casemiro at the end of May. The inevitability of the Brazilian as a box presence and his intelligence as a midfield screener cannot be directly replaced, but compatriot Andrey Santos is a smart pickup from Chelsea. He has shown maturity beyond his years, and his time in Strasbourg signals a capacity for goalscoring if required. Meanwhile, more ball mastery was another asset that could raise the level in the midfield department. Carrick was not hesitant to trust in Kobbie Mainoo, who has excelled as a connector from front to back for his boyhood club and is adding more goals to his game. The arrival of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa offers even more technical quality, composure and a range of passing distribution. What is most obviously missing from these options is a player with the capacity to eat up ground and get between both boxes with bustling athleticism. Baleba brings that quality in abundance as well as the ability to barrel into aerial duels— and his potential goes far beyond just physical dominance. As the six in Hurzeler's system, he was often responsible for dropping deep to receive and spray passes. But he is also comfortable gliding forwards with the ball to commit defenders and usually finds the right time to release teammates. He should give Carrick plenty of partnerships to work with. Moreover, a third midfield addition will benefit a team that should be trying to compete on multiple fronts. United benefitted last year from having no continental competition in the calendar and exiting the FA Cup and Carabao Cup after one fixture in both tournaments. Their participation in the Champions League means the side will feature in at least 48 games this season (8 more than total tally last year) and the tally could easily rise to around 60 with several deep runs in cup competitions. Until now, United have not been blessed with quantity of options in the middle of the park. Carrick refrained from using Manuel Ugarte much, and the Uruguay international, who has felt like a cumbersome presence on the pitch, suffered a serious knee ligament injury in the World Cup. Mason Mount has also been unreliable with fitness, sustaining a foot injury against Paris Saint-Germain. A quartet of players with Premier League experience, costing in the region of £150 million, will tick many boxes for the board and fans alike. Baleba's second season at the Amex Stadium saw standout performances against Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal before he had turned 21 years old. Why might Man United fans be concerned? The only main concern for fans of the Red Devils would be the plummeting price of the player. Baleba was rumoured to be valued at £100 million when he was linked with a move to Old Trafford at the end of last summer's transfer window. If he moves for roughly two-thirds of that fee, United would get a much better deal— but that cannot be seen without regard to the previous twelve months. Across 31 Premier League appearances in the 2025/26 campaign, he only finished a full 90 minutes of football on three occasions. A knee injury was a disruptive factor to his preseason preparations, but Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler suggested that the player also needed to mature more in his game. “We saw in some moments he struggled. He didn't track back and couldn't defend the box anymore like he did it in the in the first 25 minutes. But we had an ongoing discussion. We knew that Carlos is not like in his in his best shape. But you need to give the boy game time he needs to develop. “He needs time. There are waves in the development. There's not always like that the development goes up. There are some downs and at the moment he seems to be in a small down. It is very important to understand he's not a machine. He's a very young talented player, he needs help.” Later in the season, the German made more critical remarks about the work of the 22-year-old. “He has to like make a step up and show personality and that's his next step in in his personal development for sure like we said in the last weeks there are like waves in the development but you can only get out if you take ownership and if you take responsibility like no one will help you. “In some moments, only you can be your own support, your own help, and in some moments, he has the best environment. He can get he has like great teammates who are there for him and support him. “But now it's also up to the player that he steps up that he like shows personality and takes ownership for his development and that's also what I demand from him in the future.” Perhaps the player will be reenergised with the realisation of his dream transfer (and there will still plenty of phases in games last term when the midfielder showed the skillset that earned interest.) If so, his integration will be a stern test of his poise: Baleba will have to make up for lost time when he returns from an ankle injury in early September. But if the 2024/25 season was not a flash in the pan, United will have executed an excellent midfield rebuild to follow up on the recruitment last year.