Man Utd now has the chance to sign two more players right after landing Carlos Baleba.
Manchester United are getting close to signing midfielder Carlos Baleba from Brighton after chasing him for a whole year—and there could be two more players joining soon. According to David Ornstein from The Athletic, the two clubs are nearly agreeing on the transfer for the Cameroon star to move to Old Trafford.
United’s first offer of about £65 million was slightly less than what Brighton wanted, so the deal isn’t finished yet. But it looks like Baleba will join new teammates Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans as part of the club’s plans to strengthen their midfield.
Even with Baleba, United’s summer signings aren’t over. They still want to bring in a new left-back before the September 1 deadline. Journalist Ben Jacobs says the club has been offered two left-back options to challenge Luke Shaw after Tyrell Malacia left.
One option isn’t Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde. Fabrizio Romano reported that United have spoken with Balde’s reps about a possible move, but he’s not among the players currently being considered. Instead, United have been offered David Raum from RB Leipzig and Jorge Salinas from Racing Santander, both linked to the club this summer.
Raum, 28, is Leipzig’s captain and is ready to talk to United if they make an official offer. Salinas is 19 and played a big part in Spain’s U19 World Cup win this summer. Spanish news outlet Sport said United’s scouts were very impressed by him during the tournament.
The club thinks Salinas can join the first team right away under Michael Carrick, so he wouldn’t need to be sent out on loan. Racing Santander just got promoted back to La Liga for the first time since 2012 but might lose one of their top talents even though the season has already started.
United’s first Premier League game of the new season is on Saturday lunchtime, with Carrick’s team traveling to the MKM Stadium to play newly-promoted Hull City. Their first home game next season will be against another promoted team, Ipswich Town. After that, they face Everton (away), Manchester City (home), and Fulham (away) before the international break in September.