CARLOS BALEBA CONFESSES: MAN UTD RUMORS CAUSED "PRESSURE," NOT DECLINE IN FORM
Manchester United target Carlos Baleba addressed his dip in form, admitting he felt intense pressure to perform, but denied transfer rumors were the root cause.
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Carlos Baleba has spoken out about whether summer rumours of a possible move to Manchester United have affected his play. There was talk that the Cameroon player might head to Old Trafford during the summer transfer window. Ruben Amorim was looking to reinforce his midfield. But United couldn't agree on a fee with Brighton, so the transfer didn't happen.
The Brighton manager thinks the United rumours had an impact on Baleba.
United were busy in the summer, bringing in Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, and Benjamin Sesko from Wolves, Brentford, and RB Leipzig to strengthen their attack. The Manchester team also signed Senne Lammens from Antwerp to replace Andre Onana, who was inconsistent and moved to Trabzonspor on loan, and Altay Bayindir in goal.
Amorim wanted to sign another central midfielder to support Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro, who are the first-choice players. United tried to make a deal with Brighton for Baleba, but Brighton rejected their offer. They thought the price for the former Lille player, around £100 million ($134m), was too high, and no deal was reached.
Brighton has had a good start to the season. Baleba hasn't played as well as he did last season. Last month, coach Fabian Hurzeler asked for the rumours about the midfielder and United to stop so the player could focus on football.
Hurzeler said, It's about playing for Brighton, playing well, and helping him get back to his best. Ignore the rumours and focus on what you can control, which is football.
Baleba Claims He Felt Pressure
This season, Baleba has only played a full 90 minutes in one Premier League game and has been substituted at halftime four times. However, the player insists that the reports about a move to United are not why he hasn't played well.
Baleba told Sky Sports, I don't think it hurt me, but I felt a lot of pressure. At the beginning of the season, I wanted to play as well as I did last season.
I try to work hard every day to get back to where I was. Did I put too much pressure on myself? I think so, but it's okay. It's good for me because now I have to get through this tough time and keep working hard.
Baleba Isn't the Only Midfielder United Wants
Baleba might move to Old Trafford in January. United wants to add players to the midfield soon. The Cameroon player, who played his last Brighton game on Saturday before going to the Africa Cup of Nations, is not the only Premier League central midfielder United is interested in.
Crystal Palace player Adam Wharton is also wanted by United, but several other Premier League teams are watching the former Blackburn Rovers player. Elliot Anderson has also become a possible target for Amorim's team. But Nottingham Forest will not let the England player leave in January.
United's failure to add midfielders in early 2026 will affect Kobbie Mainoo's chances of leaving next month. Many European teams, including Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Napoli, want the England international. But United will not let Mainoo leave without a good replacement.
United Plays Again on Monday Night
United's next game is on Monday night at home against Bournemouth. Amorim has led United to two wins in their last three games. They drew 1-1 at home against West Ham between wins at Crystal Palace and Wolves.
With seven points out of the last nine, United is now three points behind the Champions League spots. They also have one game in hand on Chelsea, who are in fourth place.
AWONIYI DOUBLE LEAVES NOTTINGHAM FOREST ON THE VERGE OF PREMIER LEAGUE SAFETY
Nottingham Forest moved closer to safety with a 3-1 win over Chelsea, while West Ham fell into the relegation zone after Spurs won.
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Nottingham Forest came out of the weekend looking pretty safe after pulling off an impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea. They’re almost clear of the relegation mess. Tottenham’s big away win at Aston Villa shook things up too, and now West Ham are back in the bottom three, running out of time faster than ever.
Forest have stepped up just when they needed to, leaving West Ham and Tottenham behind with a string of solid performances. Honestly, no one saw this coming, especially since Vitor Pereira shuffled his lineup with eight changes, fresh off a Europa League win against Aston Villa.
Even so, Forest were ahead within 90 seconds, thanks to Taiwo Awoniyi’s quick strike. By the 15th minute, Igor Jesus calmly buried a penalty after Malo Gusto’s reckless foul in the box. Chelsea had a chance to get back in it, but Cole Palmer wasted a penalty right before the break after a scary head collision involving Jesse Derry.
Awoniyi doubled down and scored again early in the second half, pushing Forest six points ahead of West Ham with just three games left.
West Ham’s weekend started badly; they looked flat and lost to Brentford. Things got worse Sunday night when Tottenham pulled off their first back-to-back Premier League wins since August 2025, beating a heavily rotated Aston Villa side 2-1.
Forest is now out of West Ham’s reach, or almost. Tottenham’s still close enough for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to worry, but with three tough games coming up, Spurs could stay up even without another win, unless West Ham digs deep and pulls off something unexpected before their home finale against Leeds.
Right now, Forest can practically taste safety. Spurs finally see a way out after weeks of struggle. As for West Ham, they’re left hoping for a miracle, a last-minute twist to dodge the drop.
CESC FABREGAS CONFIRMS INTEREST IN PREMIER LEAGUE RETURN AMID CHELSEA'S MANAGER SEARCH
As Chelsea searches for a new manager, Cesc Fabregas breaks his silence on his future at Como and his Premier League ambitions.
Cesc Fabregas recalls exactly how a conversation with Jose Mourinho prompted him to join Chelsea, despite having the opportunity to return to Arsenal.
After winning six trophies in just three seasons, the Spanish World Cup winner left Barcelona for the second time in 2014. That summer, Fabregas made a move back to the Premier League, signing with Chelsea for about €33 million.
He already knew English football well. Fabregas had arrived at Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Barcelona in 2003 and made 212 Premier League appearances for them. When he decided to leave Barcelona, Manchester City also wanted him, but Chelsea convinced him, mostly thanks to Mourinho.
Talking with talkSPORT’s Rory Jennings on YouTube, Fabregas laid out how it all happened. “Honestly, when I made up my mind to leave Barcelona, my first thought was just to go back to Arsenal. They had this buyback clause; they had two weeks to use it after I told them I was leaving. They knew about it but didn’t take it. That surprised me a little, but in the end, I had to think about my career. I was 27, at the peak of my career, and I wanted to continue performing and winning trophies. City and Chelsea were both options.
“But when Mourinho spoke to me, that was it. He showed me his plans for the team and told me about Diego Costa, Courtois, and Filipe Luis and how, with those guys, we’d win the league. He was right, by the way. We won both the Premier League and the Carling Cup.”
Fabregas wasted no time winning over Chelsea fans. On his debut at Burnley, he set up two goals, including a stunning assist for Andre Schurrle. He finished his first season at Chelsea with five goals and 24 assists, along with Premier League and League Cup medals.
Things dipped the next season. Fabregas got just 15 goal contributions, and Chelsea slipped all the way to tenth. But when Antonio Conte took charge in 2016-17, they bounced back, and Fabregas picked up another league title.
He added an FA Cup win in 2018, his second, after his earlier one with Arsenal, and left for Monaco a few months later. His last Chelsea match came in the FA Cup against Nottingham Forest. When he got subbed off, he couldn’t hold back tears.
Chelsea supporters still sing about him; that “Oh, Fabregas is magic...” chant sticks around. And with his name in the conversation for a possible return, maybe they haven’t seen the last of him yet.
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