Manchester United needs £120 million to sign Baleba! They plan to attempt until the summer transfer window closes, or sell the "Five Mice" to raise funds.

Manchester United is still pursuing Brighton's midfielder Carlos Baleba and is determined not to give up on their plans to sign him before the summer transfer window ends. Reports indicate that the club wants to keep trying until the last moment, though it remains uncertain if the transfer will go through.

This summer, Manchester United's transfer activity has been quite successful, acquiring important players for the forward line, including Sesko, Mbeumo, and Cunha, with total expenditure surpassing £200 million. Now, the club is focused on bringing in a new midfielder, with 21-year-old Baleba being the top target for the Red Devils in the last 20 days of the transfer window.

Baleba is eager to move to Manchester United, but Brighton insists they do not plan to sell him this summer. Their statement of "not planning to sell" conveys a clear message: "We are not looking to sell anyone; if you want to buy, you must break the British transfer fee record!"

Currently, the highest transfer fee record for selling a player in the UK was previously held by Brighton, who sold Moisés Caicedo to Chelsea for £115 million in 2023. However, Liverpool set a new record by signing Wirtz for £116.5 million this summer. Therefore, Baleba's asking price is likely to reach £120 million! Nevertheless, Manchester United refuses to give up, as waiting until next year may mean they can't even secure him for £120 million, given that other big clubs might join the race.

According to Italian transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United is employing a similar strategy to that used for Cunha, Mbeumo, and Sesko, engaging in new negotiations with the agent team of the Cameroonian international, hoping to first reach an agreement on personal terms.

Brighton is indifferent to this, as regardless of whether the player agrees or not, they are still asking for £120 million; they remain steadfast in their preference to keep Baleba for the next season. Nevertheless, Manchester United still wants to see if they can achieve their goal, knowing that their transfer window has already been quite successful, and even if they ultimately fail, it won't matter.

Romano stated, "As I mentioned last Friday, Manchester United has been in contact with Baleba's agents, and I confirm that this is still the case. Even today, Manchester United is repeatedly discussing contract and salary matters with Baleba's representatives. Therefore, Manchester United aims to make a breakthrough from the player's perspective before reassessing the situation with Brighton. However, from Brighton's side, the deal is still not something deep, specific, or easy."

"The two sides are still in contact, and the player has not closed the door on Manchester United. From my perspective, Manchester United is keen to give it a try. They want to say, 'Well, we believe Baleba is the perfect player, and we are very satisfied with the deals made this summer.' This is because Manchester United has signed Mbeumo, Cunha, and Sesko, all of whom were desired by Amorim," Romano added. "Now they feel that if they can get the perfect midfielder, that would be fantastic; otherwise, they can continue to move forward."

Romano concluded, "Manchester United wants to give it a shot, which is why they continued discussions with Baleba's agents on Saturday, and contract issues are not a problem for them. So let's see what happens next; it is certainly an interesting situation worth watching."

From Sir Jim Ratcliffe's INEOS management team's dealings this summer, it is clear that transfer news will not leak unless there is confidence in closing a deal. However, if Manchester United wants to bring in Baleba, they will definitely need to raise funds by selling players first.

If they want to finalize Baleba's transfer before the summer window closes on September 1, then player sales cannot be delayed until the last minute, which means Manchester United may have to lower their asking prices for Garnacho, Hojlund, Sancho, and Antony. As for Malacia, his impact is minimal, as his transfer fee is only a few million pounds.

If Manchester United can sell Garnacho for £40 million, Hojlund and Antony for £30 million each, and Sancho for £15 million, they would be close to securing the transfer fee for Baleba.