Man United Pursue Fifth Summer Signing as Baleba Deal Nears
Manchester United launch their Premier League campaign at Saturday lunchtime away to newly promoted Hull City, but the real noise around Old Trafford still crackles around the transfer window.
One or more of their new arrivals could walk straight into Michael Carrick’s first XI at the MKM Stadium. Youri Tielemans, signed from Aston Villa, and Andrey Santos, brought in from Chelsea, are both pushing hard for starting spots. Carrick, now confirmed as United’s permanent manager after steering them into the Champions League during his interim stint, suddenly has options.
And he wants more.
Baleba first, left-back next
United’s hierarchy are working to wrap up a deal for Carlos Baleba, with the Lille midfielder lined up as the next piece of Carrick’s rebuild. There are still details to iron out, as reported by MEN Sport on Friday, but the expectation inside the club is clear: once Baleba is through the door, attention swings to the left side of defence.
That position has belonged to Luke Shaw for years, and he remains first choice. Yet Champions League football changes the landscape. United need depth, and not just a short-term patch. They want someone who can push Shaw now and potentially take the role in the seasons to come.
Lewis Hall is high on the list. The former Chelsea youngster, now at Newcastle, has been identified as a serious option, though Newcastle’s stance is described as firm. United would need the Magpies to soften their position to have any chance of prising Hall away.
If that stand-off doesn’t move, United are ready to pivot. Spanish duo Lewis Hall and Jorge Salinas have both been monitored, while Alejandro Balde’s name has also been floated in connection with a possible switch to Old Trafford this week. Should Hall remain out of reach, one of the two Spaniards could quickly move to the front of the queue.
The plan is simple: Baleba in as the next midfield signing, then a left-back as the fifth senior arrival of the summer.
Arteta shuts door on Lewis-Skelly
One target, though, looks off the table.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has poured cold water on any suggestion that Myles Lewis-Skelly could leave the Emirates this window, despite links to both United and Chelsea. The teenager had been mentioned as a possible long-term midfield investment for United, but Arteta’s stance could not have been clearer.
He insisted Lewis-Skelly will “100 per cent” still be an Arsenal player when the window closes, effectively ending hopes of an Old Trafford move.
Arteta then underlined just how highly the club value their homegrown talent.
“The players that have been raised in our system, and they feel generally that love and that connection with the club, bring something else, there's no question about that,” he said. “We need to look after them in a really special way because they bring value that is very difficult to find.
“That's why, when we can, we want to protect those assets as much as possible, develop them and make them extremely important for the club.”
For United, that means recalibrating. Lewis-Skelly is off limits, Baleba is close, and a new left-back is next in line. With the season starting and the Champions League on the horizon, the question now is whether they can land that fifth signing in time to match Carrick’s growing ambitions.
