Ruben Amorim pushing for Man United to sign Carlos Baleba this summer
Brighton are understood to want around £120m for the 21-year-old, with owner Tony Bloom generally unmoving as regards such prices. The United hierarchy are currently figuring out how to construct a payment package, with one consideration to offer an initial £80m with the rest made up of add-ons. There would be a will to send a player such as Jadon Sancho the other way, but it is not seen as likely that Brighton go for that.
While United anticipate outgoings in the remainder of the window, their available budget under PSR has been aided so far by the construction of their three big deals so far - Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbuemo, Benjamin Sesko - and how much has been paid in first instalments.
Amorim is insistent on a midfielder to fit the team together, and Baleba has been identified as best fitting the profile they want. A further attraction is that, while he offers exactly what United need right now, he also has huge potential.
If the club cannot get him this summer, they will almost certainly go again next year. The same could be true for United's preferred alternative, Adam Wharton. The club may try for the Crystal Palace defensive midfielder if they cannot get Baleba, but also hold a long-term interest to pair the two together. It is nevertheless anticipated that Wharton could cost even more this summer, with Palace chairman Steve Parish unwilling to do business given that they could yet lose Marc Guehi and Eberechi Eze.
United have also looked at Sporting's Morten Hjumland, although there are questions over whether he quite has the physicality for the position they want. Atalanta 's Ederson is also admired, albeit in a slightly different role.
Baleba himself is highly keen on the move.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Bromley boss Woodman signs contract extension
Bromley manager Andy Woodman has extended his contract with the League Two club until the summer of has been in charge of the Ravens since March 2021 and guided them to promotion to the English Football League for the first time last year after winning the also led the club to victory in the FA Trophy in 2022, when his side beat Wrexham 1-0 at winning promotion to League Two last season Woodman ensured Bromley were competitive in their first season in the EFL as they finished 11th in the fourth tier and reached the third round of the FA Cup, where they took the lead against Premier League Newcastle United before losing Tuesday, he led the club to their first-ever EFL Cup win when they beat relegated Premier League side Ipswich Town 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in their first-round tie.
Daily Mail
17 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
We'll need gas for decades to come, says Centrica's boss
Britain will rely on gas for decades to come, Centrica's boss said yesterday after it backed a £1.5billion deal to buy Europe's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal. Centrica, the owner of British Gas, and US infrastructure investor Energy Capital Partners have agreed to acquire the facility at Grain, on the Kent banks of the Thames Estuary, from National Grid, subject to regulatory approval. They said the site 'will be able to provide up to 33 per cent of UK gas demand and so is a critical piece of our energy security infrastructure'. And Centrica chief executive Chris O'Shea told the BBC: 'I do think that gas will be a key part of the energy transition for decades to come.' It comes as Labour's aim to shift away from oil and gas runs into trouble, with a drive to use more wind power in particular facing increasing challenges. Meanwhile, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has banned the issuing of new oil and gas licences in the North Sea. Critics argue that gas will be vital to fulfil demand – in a less polluting way than oil and coal – at a time when the capacity of renewable sources and infrastructure is still being built up. The Grain site imports and stores gas, and supplies European energy markets with customers including Centrica, Shell and Qatar Energy. O'Shea said: 'We'll have more wind and we'll have more solar but there are points where we don't have enough sun, we don't have enough wind. 'You need to have something that when you don't have your renewables you need to be able to turn on your electricity generation and gas is the best way that we've got that now.' The acquisition comes soon after Centrica announced it was investing £1.3billion for a 15 per cent stake in the new Sizewell C nuclear power plant in Suffolk. LNG, which is chilled to minus-162C (minus-259F) and transported on specialist ships, has become increasingly important to Europe since imports from Russia were cut off following the invasion of Ukraine. The fuel met 15 per cent of the UK's gas demand last year. That is expected to soar to about 60 per cent by 2050. Centrica's equity investment totals about £200million as it will also take on £1.1billion of debt. The shift to renewable energy is being hit by US President Donald Trump who has promised to ban new wind farms and recently branded turbines 'a con job'. Shares in Danish wind giant Orsted nosedived this week after it tapped up investors for £7billion to plug a financial hole, blaming its struggles on Trump's policies. Separately, UK figures showed how wind farm operators were paid £117million this year to stop producing energy that could have powered every home in Scotland for six months.
BBC News
17 minutes ago
- BBC News
Repairs begin on Scarborough's 'at risk' Bramcote Tennis Pavilion
Repairs have started on a much-loved former tennis facility after warnings it would not survive another in 1885, Bramcote Tennis Pavilion, in Scarborough, is believed to be one of the earliest surviving lawn tennis buildings in the world, having hosted several top-level tournaments at the end of the 19th the empty Grade II-listed building was placed on an 'at risk' register by The Victorian Society in 2024 amid concerns about its condition. Now, however, the work has started on the pavilion in an effort to preserve it, according to the group. Earlier this year, North Yorkshire councillor Rich Maw had warned the site had become dilapidated after being damaged by Storm Darragh in December. He said it would be a "travesty" if the building, which sits on the site of an athletics track used by Scarborough College, was lost due to a failure to maintain it. The building's owner confirmed repairs were Ollivier, northern conservation adviser at the Victorian Society, said the group and the local community are "very pleased to see that Bramcote Tennis Pavilion is now being looked after the way it has long needed". He added: "This Grade II building, recognised for its national significance and special interest, is undeniably a jewel of Scarborough's history and important in its role in the formation of lawn tennis." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
