Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler refused to be drawn on Manchester United's interest in midfielder Carlos Baleba on the eve of their Premier League campaign.
United have submitted an offer of £60million plus £5m in add-ons for the 22-year-old, who Michael Carrick wants to further bolster his midfield alongside new arrivals Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos.
Baleba is keen on a move to Old Trafford and has reportedly already agreed personal terms. United first enquired about the Cameroon international last summer and are now confident they can wrap up a deal for considerably less than the £100m they were quoted 12 months ago.
Hurzeler confirms Baleba injury
Hurzeler faced reporters on Friday ahead of Brighton's Premier League opener against Aston Villa on Sunday and didn't give much away, bar confirming Baleba would miss the game due to an ankle injury picked up in pre-season.
"He's a Brighton player. Like I said, I'll never comment on any rumours that are currently in the media, it's also something I definitely can't control," the German said.
"A lot of things are written, I know about situations but again, in two days I have a very important game together with my team and with my staff. We want to have a good start in the Premier League season, that's the only focus we have at the moment."
Barber echoes transfer stance
His words echoed those of Brighton chief executive Paul Barber the day before. "It's not something that I can talk about right now," Barber told talkSPORT on Thursday.
"This time of year we're always going to be subject to bids for our players, we're always going to be interested in ones that are sensible and are going to make sense for us financially, economically. But we also have to balance that with making sure our squad is as strong as it can be to compete in competitions like the one we're in."
"So nothing really to say on Carlos at the moment other than that he's a hugely talented young midfielder who's done really well for us and has attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world now for a couple of years."
Minteh also attracting interest
Brighton are also fielding interest from Liverpool in winger Yankuba Minteh. The Seagulls have rejected a £50m bid from Andoni Iraola's side and know the transfer game better than most, having lost many key players to Premier League rivals in recent years.
"We know in general all the players there are rumours about, they are important players for us because they're a big part of the journey the last two years," Hurzeler said.
"In football, you have to understand, it's normal if you're successful as a team, if the team is doing well, they've had some good achievements, then an individual can shine. Then of course there will be a big ask for our players, that's part of our identity and part of my job here."
"It was clear for everyone this might happen during a busy transfer window. We can go through every individual player, we all know how important these kinds of players are for me, but we also know that good achievements, big achievements, especially in the Premier League, you create offers, you create a lot of attention."
