Manchester United are closing in on signing Brighton's Carlos Baleba in another fast-moving piece of transfer business, unlike their days of chasing Frenkie de Jong to no avail.
There was plenty of noise going into the summer about United's midfield rebuild, yet they've gone about their business relatively quietly. Andrey Santos' move from Chelsea came out of the blue, while the decision to trigger Youri Tielemans' £35million release clause made for another smooth transaction.
Rapid Progress on Baleba
Now Carlos Baleba is in line to become United's next rapid-fire signing. Prior to Wednesday's news that the Red Devils had submitted a £65m bid, reports suggested that the Brighton midfielder was no longer a priority, with the likes of Sander Berge, Manu Kone and Aurelien Tchouameni said to be preferred. Instead, they've sprung a surprise and quickly made progress on Baleba.
It's a stark contrast to how United operated in the summer of 2022 when their public pursuit of Frenkie de Jong highlighted their lacklustre transfer strategy and ended in predictable failure.
The De Jong Saga
United went about their move for De Jong in quite literal broad daylight. CEO Richard Arnold and sporting director John Murtagh - each of them no longer at the club - were spotted in Barcelona in mid-July 2022 before reaching an agreement in principle for De Jong. That was only club-to-club, however, and the Dutchman's reluctance to join the Red Devils proved a stumbling block.
BBC Sport report that even though United's recruitment staff had been told that signing De Jong was impossible, Erik ten Hag was certain it could be done, dragging out the saga for the best part of two months. De Jong's stance never changed and after two losses in Ten Hag's first two games, United were forced to pivot. They coughed up £70m to sign a 30-year-old Casemiro and handed him a bumper four-year contract.
Lessons Learned
It feels apt that in the summer Casemiro departed, the new Old Trafford hierarchy are showing that they've learned from their predecessors' mistakes. Fans have been frustrated by the lack of updates since signing Tielemans on July 14, but in reality United have worked hard to keep a low profile and maintain a stealthy approach.
It should be noted that there's still work to do on Baleba, with United's offer of £60m plus £5m in add-ons not being sufficient. Nevertheless, expect the Cameroon international to be a United player by deadline day. United did the groundwork on Baleba last summer when Brighton quoted them an eye-watering £100m off the back of his star-making season, so they'll have saved a good chunk of money by being patient.
The Red Devils would also like to sign Lewis Hall, but given that Newcastle have already sold several key players this summer, it's an unlikely outcome. In 12 months' time, though, Hall will be a year closer to the expiry of his current contract and potentially more attainable.
