Brighton's chief executive Paul Barber has admitted that his club will consider a "sensible" offer for midfielder Carlos Baleba after Manchester United submitted a bid.
United have reignited their interest in Baleba this summer, making an initial offer of around £60million, plus £5m in add-ons. Baleba was valued in excess of £100million by Brighton last summer, and United were not prepared to meet that valuation in a window when other positions were the priority.
Barber's comments on the bid
When asked about United's interest in Baleba by talkSPORT, Barber responded: "It's not something that I can talk about right now. At this time of year, we're always going to be subject to bids for our players.
"We are always going to be interested in ones that are sensible and that are going to make sense for us financially and economically. But we always have to balance that with making sure the squad is as strong as it can be to compete in competitions like the one we are in tonight [Brighton facing Tromso in the Conference League].
"So I've got nothing to really say on Carlos at the moment other than he's a hugely talented young midfielder who's done really well for us, and he has attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world now for a couple of years. So let's see where we go."
United's summer spending
United are hopeful a financial package of less than £75m can be agreed for the 22-year-old. The club has spent £85m so far this summer, signing back-up goalkeeper Karl Darlow on a free transfer, adding Andrey Santos in a £50m deal, and signing Youri Tielemans for £35m.
The summer spend would reach around £160m if a deal for Baleba can be finalised. United will also look to sign a left-back before the transfer window closes for Premier League clubs on September 1.
