Manchester United look certain to sign a central midfielder in 2026 and they are casting the net wide over an array of options.
The Red Devils were keen on signing someone in the centre of the park over the summer and were heavily linked with Brighton’s Carlos Baleba.
An approach was made to the Seagulls over the 21-year-old, but it came to nothing, with Brighton setting a lofty asking price.
Manager Ruben Amorim has been regularly choosing Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro as his midfield pair, but that is not the long-term plan.
ESPN report seven names are on the shopping list at Old Trafford, with Baleba remaining one of their midfield targets.
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The Cameroon international is not the only Premier League player on the list of targets, with Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton also well liked.
Wolves’ Brazilian internationals Andre and Joao Gomes are also being tracked by the Red Devils.
Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid’s Conor Gallagher is of interest, with the Red Devils tempted to bring the former Chelsea man back to the Premier League.
Possibly the most left-field name on the shortlist is Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller.
The 24-year-old joined Stuttgart from Hoffenheim in 2023 and has won five caps for Germany since his debut last year.
It has also been reported this week that Manchester United are ‘keeping tabs’ on their former midfielder James Garner, who is out of contract at Everton at the end of the season.
Baleba may have been the chief midfield target last summer, but his form has dropped off this season, with Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler admitting the Cameroonian has been affected by the speculation.
Seagulls chairman Tony Bloom said that it wasn’t much of a transfer saga, though, certainly compared to what they have dealt with in recent seasons with other players.
‘I don’t think Baleba was a saga,’ Bloom told The Argus. ‘There was interest from Manchester United, and we said that he wasn’t available this summer and they went away.
‘So we’ve had many bigger sagas in the past.’
Amorim has publicly declared that one of his current midfielders has been struggling, telling Manuel Ugarte that he must improve in training to get a place in the first team.
‘You can sense a lot of very good players come here, and sometimes they struggle,’ the manager said. ‘He is struggling at the moment but it is our job to try to help and help him to feel like I felt when he was a Sporting player.
‘But it is a different world. He needs to adapt, and he needs to improve, especially in training.’