Red Devils 'could revive deal' for Baleba; 'can afford him this summer' in bombshell 'yes'

Manchester United ‘can afford’ top midfield target Carlos Baleba this summer and ‘could revive a deal’ for the Brighton star despite reports claiming they’ve walked away from his possible transfer.

The Red Devils have held talks over a move for Baleba via intermediaries and then directly with Brighton this month to sound them out over a deal, but with the Seagulls wanting £100m+, The Athletic’s David Ornstein revealed on Friday that United had decided not to push ahead with talks.

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‘Manchester United are not planning to proceed with a move for Carlos Baleba before the transfer window closes,’ he wrote.

‘Moving to Old Trafford appeals to Baleba so personal terms would have presented no problem — and the Cameroon international is prepared to keep pushing, even if it means waiting until the future.

‘That does not suggest he is unhappy at Brighton and the dialogue has been cordial, with United respecting their stance.’

But The Standard, while offering no more information besides, claim ‘a deal could be revived’ for the 21-year-old, and football finance expert Dan Plumley insists United “can afford him if they want him”.

Plumley told Football Insider: “Ultimately, and we’ve said this before with other players this summer, Man United can afford him if they want him.

“They have got options to draw upon. There’s a credit facility, a revolving one that we think has been drawn down.

“We’ve seen the way they’ll stagger instalments for other players that they’ve brought in as well.

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“In terms of general affordability, the answer is still yes. I think the interesting thing on the fee is if it is going to be £100m or in and around that figure, then it probably won’t happen this summer.

“That would be the other way to look at it, because that then is a significant outlay on top of what they’ve already spent this summer.

“If the fee’s gonna be that high, I think that probably means they wouldn’t look at him this summer, but if they think a deal can be done further down the line, next year seems more likely.

“Can they afford him this summer? Yes, in the bigger picture, but £100m now, given where the window’s at, probably not.”

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