MANCHESTER: Carlos Baleba is a dynamic midfielder who has proven himself in the Premier League and is among the targets Manchester United need.

The 2-4 defeat to AC Milan in Wroclaw last Saturday exposed the lack of energy and options in United’s midfield.

United have already tabled an opening bid of £65 million for the Brighton midfielder, who is reportedly keen on a move to Manchester and has agreed a five-year contract.

Negotiations between the two clubs are ongoing and United are hopeful of reaching an agreement for the 22-year-old Cameroon international, who has been a long-term target for the club.

Brighton are open to selling Baleba for less than the £100 million price tag mentioned last summer.

United’s management is now tightening up the player recruitment process, thus ending the era of reckless big spending.

The club is also happy that this time they have managed to keep the transfer plans a secret from public attention.

Baleba’s arrival would increase United’s spending on midfielders to 150 million pounds this summer, meaning just 34 million pounds separates United’s spending on three midfielders from City’s one major signing, Elliot Anderson.

Their rivals Manchester City are seen as willing to make a bigger splash by approaching targets Ayyoub Bouaddi valued at 100 million pounds and Enzo Fernandez valued at 120 million pounds.

United have already spent a combined £85m on Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans, with chief executive Omar Berrada insisting market forces will not force them to make a panic move.

Baleba, who plays as a defensive midfielder, fits the profile of a powerful player missing from United’s squad, but an ankle injury sustained against Strasbourg has ruled the Brighton player out of action.

Santos has been considered Casemiro’s successor until now, but Baleba has 64 more Premier League appearances than him, making him more experienced despite both being the same age.

If the move becomes a reality, the injury recovery period of between two to three weeks means Baleba will need time to regain his playing sharpness.

His performances also declined last season when United began to show interest, with Baleba being sent off 15 times in Premier League games, including four times at half-time.

Brighton signed Baleba to become their central defender after Moises Caicedo moved to Chelsea for 115 million pounds in 2023.

He became the only midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues in the 2024-25 season to record at least 30 tackles, interceptions, clearances, passes and aerial challenges won.

United supporters had been pushing the club to sign Baleba for 100 million pounds last summer.

Baleba produced his best performance of the 2025-26 season when he helped Brighton beat Chelsea 3-0 in April, displaying athleticism, aggression and ball control skills.

Baleba’s playing profile largely resembles Casemiro’s, but he lacks the Brazilian’s instinct for making passing runs into the box and his threat of scoring from distance.

If he joins Michael Carrick’s squad, Baleba will most likely be paired with new player worth 35 million pounds, Tielemans.

Manuel Ugarte is sidelined for at least nine months after undergoing knee surgery following an injury sustained during the World Cup against Spain, while Mason Mount also missed the final two pre-season games.

Baleba once told SunSport in May 2025: “If I keep working hard, I can be like Luka Modric or Toni Kroos, I just have to stay humble.

“Declan Rice, Matheus Cunha and Joelinton, they all told me I had the ability. I want to win the Ballon d’Or like Rodri.

“His success paves the way for midfielders like us to believe that one day we too can win the Ballon d’Or.”

LONDON: Jamie Carragher has claimed that Michael Carrick lacks the ‘star’ level ‘touch’ to return Manchester United to the pinnacle of football.

Carrick, 45, was given the permanent job at Old Trafford in the summer after impressive performances during his time as caretaker manager following the sacking of Ruben Amorim in January.

The former United midfielder led the Red Devils to wins over Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool to help them finish the season in third place, returning the club to the Champions League after two seasons without competition.

Carrick’s strong start as United manager has sparked a wave of confidence among supporters that he can guide the club to a first league title since Sir Alex Ferguson left in 2013.

However, Liverpool legend Carragher urged all parties to be cautious ahead of the 2026-27 English Premier League (EPL) season.

“I’m not saying it’s going to be bad. What Manchester United have been through in the last six months, they need to continue that for another 12 months by not being a club full of controversy, not being in the news all the time and Carrick takes you in that direction,” he said on ‘The Overlap Fan Debate’ hosted by Sky Bet.

“But does he have the stardust to win the biggest trophies? I think you need to be in a strong position to be a real Champions League club again.

“Then what do we need? It’s like a player takes you to a certain level, then we need that ‘stardust’. Personally, I just don’t think Michael Carrick has it as a manager to win the Champions League or the Premier League.

“I don’t believe Michael Carrick will win the league or the Champions League with Manchester United, but he’s done a very good job.

“He could have a good season and put Manchester United in a position to get a manager who has won the Champions League.”

Carrick is looking to strengthen his squad in the summer transfer market with midfielders Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans arriving from Chelsea and Aston Villa respectively.

However, Carragher believes United missed an opportunity by not signing former West Ham star Mateus Fernandes after the club were reluctant to accept the asking price of 85 million pounds sterling, with the midfielder later joining Spurs.

“I was a bit worried when I saw United being linked with Fernandes because I thought he could be a good signing,” he said.

“I looked at his age and ability and was surprised United didn’t get him. They said he was too expensive but was he really too expensive?

“I know £85 million is a big amount, but you’re not going to get a really top-class midfielder these days for £50 million.”

Meanwhile, United legend Paul Scholes believes the defensive department remains a problem, with United yet to bring in any new players in that position.

“Central defence is still a problem,” he said. “Manchester United still need a better central defence, the players we have now don’t have the quality, at the level I expect from Manchester United, to continue to win the Premier League.

“You need a centre-back who can be trusted every week. They have Maguire who is starting to have some minor (injury) problems, Lisandro Martinez is not able to stay fit now. When he is fit, he is a good player, don’t get me wrong.

“They have Leny Yoro who has struggled for the last two years, it seems the (Premier League) level is above his ability and (hopefully) he can improve this season.”

MANCHESTER: Manchester City have reportedly accepted a £65.4 million bid from Barcelona for the services of Spanish midfielder Rodri.

British media reported that the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has agreed a four-year contract with the Spanish champions and is expected to travel to the Nou Camp next week to complete the move.

Rodri, 30, enjoyed seven successful seasons with City after joining the club from Atletico Madrid in 2019 for a then club record fee of 62.8 million pounds.

Throughout his 298 appearances for City, the midfielder helped the club win 12 major trophies, including four Premier League titles, two FA Cups, three League Cups and one Champions League trophy.

Rodri’s contract with City has one year remaining, but the club previously wanted the player to sign a contract extension.

The move to Barcelona, ​​however, came as Rodri had just returned to training with City last Friday after undergoing minor back surgery.

He was not fielded when City lost 0-3 to Arsenal in the Community Shield yesterday.

LONDON: A consortium including Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has reached a definitive agreement to buy a minority stake in Liverpool, the English Premier League (EPL) club’s owner, Fenway Sports Group (FSG), said on Friday.

Sources familiar with the matter said the stake was around a third, while British media reported the transaction value was more than 1.5 billion pounds, thus valuing Liverpool at more than 5 billion pounds.

FSG, which bought Liverpool in 2010 for 300 million pounds, will remain the majority shareholder and retain control of the club’s operations.

The consortium, known as 1892 Holdings, is led by former Queens Park Rangers chairman Amit Bhatia and also includes Mittal Family Trusts, EE Capital and the K5 Sports fund, in which Bezos is a major investor.

“As we explored this opportunity, it was clear that Amit and the consortium shared our long-term philosophy and appreciated what makes Liverpool so special.

“Their experience and perspective will complement the strong foundation already in place and we look forward to working together,” FSG president Mike Gordon said in a statement.

Bhatia will be appointed as the club’s new vice-chairman and joins an expanded board of directors alongside Elaine Saverin of EE Capital and Bryan Baum of K5 Sports.

However, Bezos will not hold a seat on the board of directors, according to the source.

“Being a partner in a club of this status is a great honor.

“We are making this investment because we have great confidence in Liverpool and its leadership, and we look forward to helping the club continue its success for years to come,” said Bhatia.

Liverpool, who share the record of 20 English champions, finished the EPL last season in fifth place. They will open their new campaign against Newcastle United on August 23.

MANCHESTER: Marcus Rashford has been given a new shirt number after rejoining Manchester United, a development that could provide a clue to his future at the club.

Rashford was previously expected to have played his last game with United after being ousted from his boyhood club by Ruben Amorim in December 2024.

After loan spells at Aston Villa and Barcelona, ​​the England striker was expected to join the Spanish giants on a permanent basis, but Barcelona chose not to activate his £26 million buyout clause.

The situation has left Rashford, 29, in limbo, with only a handful of clubs showing interest in him, while United are reportedly reluctant to give him a second chance.

After playing at the World Cup, Rashford finally returned to training on Sunday, rejoining the Red Devils squad for the first time in more than 18 months.

He looked cheerful as he took photos with supporters and accepted requests to sign autographs.

United manager Michael Carrick confirmed Rashford will be in the squad for the final two pre-season friendlies.

“We will have a full squad next week in Dublin.

“We flew straight there and met Leeds on Wednesday. We had a few days in Dublin with the whole squad, including Marcus, Kobbie [Mainoo] and Lisandro [Martinez].

“I’ve played with him before. I was in the game when he made his debut, so we have history,” said Carrick.

While it has not been confirmed that Rashford will remain a United player this season, the club have hinted that he could be in the pipeline after giving him a new shirt number.

The striker was unable to return to wearing his beloved number 10 jersey after the number was given to Matheus Cunha upon his arrival from Wolves last summer.

In fact, the numbers 19 and 39 that Rashford once wore now belong to new players, Bryan Mbeumo and Tyler Fletcher.

However, according to Fabrizio Romano, Rashford will now wear the number 14 jersey, the number he used when at Barcelona and which is usually given to important first-team players.

At United, the number 14 jersey has previously been worn by Christian Eriksen, Jesse Lingard and Javier Hernandez.

United are said to have chosen the number as a message of confidence in Rashford and a sign that he will be reintegrated into the first-team at Old Trafford, unless an agreement can be reached with another club.

Several clubs from Turkey and Saudi Arabia have contacted Rashford, but he wants to play for a top European club to ensure his chances of remaining in the England squad.

Rashford has also been linked with Arsenal and Tottenham, but recent developments suggest he could return to his boyhood club this season.