SKY SPORTS CONFIRMS MANCHESTER UNITED HAVE EXPLORED CONDITIONS FOR A CARLOS BALEBA TRANSFER
Manchester United have explored a move for Brighton's Carlos Baleba. Discover why the Seagulls are demanding a record £100m fee.
Manchester United wants to test Brighton’s resolve for Carlos Baleba this month, or so the story goes.
A Sky Sports reporter who covers the South Coast said United have been talking about moving for Baleba in January. The midfielder’s currently in good form for Cameroon at AFCON, bracing for a tough last-16 showdown with Nigeria. If Cameroon loses, he’ll head back to club football just in time for Brighton’s FA Cup clash at Old Trafford.
Brighton, though, keeps saying the same thing they’ve said since last summer—they’re not selling. The Argus has repeated it for months: Baleba stays with the Seagulls at least until season’s end.
Fabian Hurzeler is banking on Baleba’s AFCON momentum, plus having Pascal Gross back in the fold, to really get his club season going.
Even so, Sky’s Mark McAdam thinks United are ready to move. He told viewers United have already looked into a possible deal for Baleba this window. They like him. They’ve checked in before, and they’re doing it again. Brighton’s response? Same as always: “Baleba is not for sale; we rate him too highly, and we’re not interested in selling him—especially not in January.”
United do have other midfield names on their radar—Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, and Joao Gomes—but Baleba’s a big one. He’s committed to Brighton until June 2029, so the club holds all the cards.
Right now, United sits sixth in the Premier League. Just three points off Liverpool in the last Champions League spot, but honestly, people feel they could be punching higher.
Manager Amorim isn’t promising much action this month. Just two weeks ago, he said, “We’ll see” about any moves. Now? He’s shutting that talk down. “The transfer window isn’t going to change. We’re not having conversations about changing the squad. We have a process and an idea, and we’re sticking to it. We’re close to the Champions League places, but there are eight teams right behind us, so let’s just focus on the next game. That’s it. Win the next one.”
United have looked at Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, though it seems City might get him. Joshua Zirkzee and Kobbie Mainoo have also been linked with possible January exits.
And when someone asked Amorim if any players have come knocking on his door to leave, he said, “No, none. I don’t expect them to ask.”
WHY NO FINE? DISCOVER WHY THE GREEK COURT SCRAPPED MAGUIRE'S FINANCIAL PENALTY THIS WEEK
Harry Maguire’s retrial is over! Read about the 15-month suspended sentence, the Supreme Court appeal, and the Mykonos backstory.
Manchester United defender Harry Maguire has been found guilty of non-serious assault in Greece and given a 15-month suspended jail sentence, down from the original 21 months after a retrial. This all goes back to 2020, when police arrested him while he was on holiday in Mykonos with family and friends.
The legal process dragged on for years. Maguire’s retrial finally happened on Wednesday, after four delays. He’s still fighting accusations of aggravated assault, resisting arrest, and attempted bribery from that night. Greek law meant his conviction got quashed automatically on appeal, so that’s why there was a retrial. Maguire skipped the hearing; he was busy preparing for United’s game against Newcastle. On top of the shorter sentence, he doesn’t have to pay a fine anymore.
All this started in the summer break between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, just a year after Maguire joined United for a then-record £80 million. He was the club captain and a regular for England.
Right after his arrest, Maguire told the BBC how he thought he was getting kidnapped. He said plain-clothes police pulled over his group’s minibus, yanked him off, hit him on the legs, and shouted that his career was finished. “They hit me a lot on the legs. It wasn’t on my mind. I was in that much of a panic. Fear. Scared for my life,” he said. Maguire tried to run off with one handcuff still on, not knowing who these men were. He also said, “I don’t feel I owe an apology to anybody. An apology is something you do when you have done something wrong. I don’t wish it on anybody. Obviously, the situation has made it difficult for one of the biggest clubs in the world, so I regret putting the fans and the club through this, but I did nothing wrong. I found myself in a situation where it could have happened to anybody, anywhere.”
That first trial in 2020 caught him off guard. “It was horrible. It was such a quick turnaround; it was incredible. We got the pages for the transcript for the court the evening before. A big document, all in Greek. I hardly had any chance to speak to my lawyer. We were confident the case would be adjourned to give us more time to prepare and get the witnesses and the evidence that we have. For it all happened so quickly... we obviously didn’t expect the trial to go ahead,” he said.
Now, just ahead of his 33rd birthday, Maguire still refuses to settle the case with money. He wants to clear his name in court. He plans to appeal to the Supreme Court if he wins and the judgment gets thrown out.
CONTRACTUAL LIFELINE: UNEARTHING THE STRATEGY BEHIND ANDRE ONANA’S RETURN FROM TURKISH LOAN SPELL
Onana vs Lammens: Get the latest on the £44M keeper’s return from Turkey and why Michael Carrick values "reliability over chaos."
Andre Onana isn’t giving up on his Manchester United career, even with his replacement grabbing the spotlight while he’s away on loan. Right now, Onana’s spending the 2025/26 season with Trabzonspor in Turkey, while Senne Lammens has stepped up as United’s new first-choice keeper.
United signed Lammens from Royal Antwerp for £18 million on deadline day last September, and soon after, Onana was shipped out on loan. There’s no option for Trabzonspor to buy him, so Onana will be back at United this summer. He’s already played 72 games for the club.
Onana has turned out 20 times for Trabzonspor, but honestly, United probably aren’t paying much attention. Lammens has looked rock-solid in goal, holding down the spot for 21 straight matches, no matter if Amorim, Darren Fletcher, or Michael Carrick was in charge.
So far, Lammens has five clean sheets and is anchoring a defence that’s clearly improving under Carrick. Altay Bayindir is backing him up, and Tom Heaton is still kicking around in the goalkeeping group.
When United first bought Onana for £44 million from Inter Milan, he was reuniting with Erik ten Hag, his old Ajax boss. He’s still got two years left on his contract. According to Geremi Onana’s friend and a former Cameroon and Chelsea player, Onana hasn’t lost hope of turning things around.
“Listen, I know Andre very well, and there were a lot of issues at United during his time there,” Geremi told Telecom Asia. “It wasn’t all on him. But with Michael Carrick coming in, things are looking up for everyone, including Andre.
“He’s got real talent, and players like him don’t come around often. The next step is for him to go back and fight for his spot. Andre always rises to a challenge. Give him a fair shot, and he’ll show you what he can do.”
We’ll find out what’s next for Onana this summer. United are planning big changes, including a new permanent manager. Carrick is one of the names in the running.
If Carrick gets the job, Onana’s chances might take a hit, since the interim boss is thrilled with Lammens. After Lammens’ man-of-the-match showing in the 1-0 win over Everton, Carrick said, “For me, a keeper needs to be reliable, someone who calms things down, not adds to the chaos. Senne does exactly that.
“He’s quiet and maybe a bit unassuming, but he’s got real steel in him. Stepping in as United’s keeper is a big ask, and not everyone handles it. Sometimes it takes a while to settle, sometimes not. The way he’s handled it so far, he’s calm and composed, and that’s made a huge difference for the defence.”
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