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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.

Carlos Baleba Confesses: Man Utd Rumors Caused "Pressure," Not Decline in Form
United’s £100M Midfield Target Heads to AFCON Under Pressure

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.

MICHAEL OWEN DECLARES PREMIER LEAGUE "NEARLY WRAPPED UP" FOR LEADERS ARSENAL

Michael Owen tells talkSPORT that Arsenal have "wrapped up" the Premier League title, sitting six points clear with 14 games left.

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Arsenal are six points clear as Owen claims rivals aren't good enough

Michael Owen says Arsenal has basically wrapped up the league.

Right now, Mikel Arteta’s team sits six points clear at the top of the Premier League. Fourteen games left, but they’re determined not to trip up like they did in the past. Three years in a row, they finished second—always just missing out on Manchester City or Liverpool. Remember that eight-point lead they blew to City in 2022/23? That one really stung, especially since City went on to win everything: the league, the Champions League, and the Carabao Cup.

On Wednesday morning, Owen—yeah, the former United and Liverpool striker—went on talkSPORT and talked about how easy Arsenal has it this season. “I don’t think anyone’s good enough to compete with them this year,” he said. “Even though I don’t think the points total will be that high.” He figured only Liverpool or City had a shot at the start of the season, but both have fallen off. So, in Owen’s mind, Arsenal has pretty much been handed the title. “Nobody’s put much pressure on them,” he said. “The league is nearly wrapped up.”

And Arsenal just beat Chelsea 1-0 at the Emirates in the Carabao Cup (4-2 on aggregate), so now they’re one win away from silverware—it would be their first trophy under Arteta since that FA Cup back in 2020.

Owen already thinks Arsenal will be champions this year, and he’s backing them for the League Cup too. “I think they could win the Carabao Cup, absolutely,” he said. “But the other two trophies are going to be tough.”

The Gunners are still chasing the quadruple. They topped their Champions League group, knocked Portsmouth out of the FA Cup, and haven’t lost in Europe—getting some big wins over Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich along the way.

Owen, who’s got a Ballon d’Or to his name, thinks Arsenal will face stiffer competition outside England. “Everyone else will be focusing on the FA Cup now, since the league’s pretty much over,” he said. “It’s the only thing that can save their season, so clubs will put out strong teams.” Then there’s the Champions League, which feels wide open this year.

Alan Brazil from talkSPORT asked Owen if Arsenal could actually win all four trophies. Owen shot that down. “No, I don’t think so,” he replied. “But they’re special, a really strong, efficient side.”

ASTON VILLA VALUE MORGAN ROGERS AT £100M+ AS LIVERPOOL AND CHELSEA CIRCLE

Aston Villa face a fight to keep £100m-rated Morgan Rogers as Liverpool and Chelsea circle the England star for a summer move.

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From £8m to £100m! The insane rise of Villa star Morgan Rogers

Aston Villa really wants to hang on to Morgan Rogers, but that’s going to be tough this summer. There’s serious money on the table, and both Liverpool and Chelsea can’t seem to take their eyes off him. One journalist even called Rogers “a joy to watch.”

Rogers is only 23, but he’s come a long way fast. Villa picked him up from Middlesbrough just over two years ago for an initial £8 million, which doubled when you count the add-ons. At the time, not everyone was convinced—he came in without much fuss, just another Manchester City academy kid trying to make his mark. But look at him now: one of the best signings Villa’s made in years, his value through the roof, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a starting lineup without his name for either club or country.

Villa now rates him at more than £100 million, and the whole “big six” wants him. He even landed a new contract in November, tying him to Villa until June 2031. But even with that deal, Mark Carey from The Athletic thinks Villa will have their hands full trying to keep him. Rogers isn’t just playing well under Unai Emery—he’s on fire, and with the World Cup coming up, his profile’s only getting bigger.

Nine goals and seven assists from 34 games this season say it all. That’s why the top clubs keep circling. Liverpool and Chelsea are both sniffing around, and if Chelsea loses Cole Palmer, they’ll be even more desperate. Carey says teams in England and abroad won’t be scared off by Villa’s tough stance or Rogers’ long contract.

Carey’s pretty blunt: Villa’s resolve is about to face its biggest test yet. He says it’ll be interesting to see how the club reacts, especially if they miss out on the Champions League for 2026/27.

So why is Rogers worth more than £100 million now? Carey points to the long contract as a bit of a safety net for Villa, but Rogers’ progress is off the charts. He’s that good—“a joy to watch,” in Carey’s words—and honestly, there’s no ceiling to how far he can go.

You could see this coming even last September. Transfer insider Dean Jones already knew Villa rated Rogers highly and figured he could be the club’s next £100m man after Jack Grealish. Jones said people close to Villa believed Rogers would hit that price by the January window, but selling him mid-season wasn’t really on the table. If Rogers kept playing like this, Jones said, the £100m tag would stick by next summer—especially with that long contract.

Jones summed it up: Rogers has become one of the most exciting attackers in the Premier League, and Villa is determined to keep him. Last summer, insiders said Villa internally priced him at £80 million and made it clear he wasn’t for sale.

But if Mark Carey’s right and Villa’s resolve gets pushed this summer, they won't settle for less than what Man City paid for Grealish (£100 million). Honestly, with the way things are going, they might even demand the kind of money Liverpool shelled out for Florian Wirtz—around £116 million.

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