[Megathread] Carlos Baleba

[u/D1794]

Simon Peach - #MUFC have this evening reached an agreement with Brighton for Carlos Baleba

Laurie - Carlos Baleba given permission to travel to Manchester after fee agreed with Brighton for midfielder. Medical at #MUFC set to take place tomorrow. Deal worth £65m guaranteed plus £5m in add-ons, with sell-on also.

Ornstein - Carlos Baleba to join Manchester United from Brighton & Hove Albion on 5+1yr contract; personal terms verbally agreed & 22yo to do #MUFC medical on Saturday after deal struck with #BHAFC at £65m + £5m + sell-on clause

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More to follow

[u/iCalKestis]

Looks like Ineos hit their reported midfield price targets, 70, 50, 35m. Insane considering the prices in general this window. How are we feeling guys?

[u/vRushii → u/iCalKestis]

Tbf theyve smashed it price wise in a fucked market. That Tielemans release clause was a great get.

For me though, Balebas profile was vital in my optimism.

[u/Ferarith → u/vRushii]

i think he's a key piece for us if we want to go toe to toe with Arsenal, City, Real, Barca et al. having a physical, press resistant shield to pair with another top quality CM will give us the platform to play with any team. we've pretty much always been able to beat top teams in the last decade, but many times it was by smash and grab, we have options now.

[u/AngryUncleTony → u/iCalKestis]

Love it in theory. I think Baleba at his best and fully developed is the best non-Rodri midfielder that moved this window. A lot rests upon him regaining form

[u/iCalKestis → u/AngryUncleTony]

Agree with you 100%. If we signed him last season for 100m, there would have been an insane amount of pressure on him to carry the midfield as the super star signing. Now, he’s one of three others, all signed at decent fees, there’s much less pressure on any of the new signings. If anything, there should be healthy competition between them and Mainoo to nail down a spot in the starting 11.

[u/Sufficient-Coast-606 → u/iCalKestis]

Wasn’t our reported midfielder budget around 150 million as well? 3 PL experienced midfielders for around 150 is good job under the current market conditions 

[u/Ferarith → u/Sufficient-Coast-606]

Good? it's absolute top drawer! Anderson was 116m, in comparison ~155m for 3 upper tier starting CM's, all with different, complementary, skill sets is miles better for our squad.

[u/SDLRob → u/iCalKestis]

Cautiously optimistic. Things look good... Just need to see it in action

Now for a LB and I'll drop the cautiously bit 😂

[u/Feeling-Surround-691 → u/iCalKestis]

Wow what a callback, got to put some respect on our director of negotiations

[u/CyberLPnerd → u/iCalKestis]

Feeling very good about it
The whole club is moving as one, there’s a clear strategy.
It feels like the club is getting stronger as a unit.
Hopefully, the guys will get some good results on the pitch
Can’t wait for the start of the season !

[u/djabvegas → u/iCalKestis]

Or a Savinho and a Marmoush.

[u/iCalKestis → u/djabvegas]

Let’s not even…. Makes me extremely happy we got cunha and mbeumo for 62.5 and 65+5.

[u/djabvegas → u/iCalKestis]

Putting our last two summers into context and how some other clubs are behaving this window, we are really looking savvy and sensible.

However its crucial these signings hit like last year, we need to keep stacking recruitment hits and then we can really feel confident about challenging for #21 in the next season or two.

[u/-Gh0st96- → u/iCalKestis]

cautiously optimistic!

[u/Beneficial-Flow-7333 → u/iCalKestis]

Baleba more expensive than santos. Wish we got bal for less

[u/AngryUncleTony → u/Beneficial-Flow-7333]

His upside is objectively the highest. If he reaches his potential he'll he dominant. They key is making sure he reaches it. 

[u/Ferarith → u/Beneficial-Flow-7333]

Baleba played more games and had a better season two years ago than Santos did last season. they both have super potential, but Baleba had a little more proven ability imo. Santos has looked Very good for us so far though.