Manchester United Pursue Bradley Locko as Balde Deal Stalls
Manchester United’s search for a left-back is heading into the final stretch of the window, and a new name has moved into focus: Brest defender Bradley Locko.
The club’s need is clear. With the deadline looming next week, United are actively working on bringing in cover and competition on the left side of defence. Michael Carrick wants a solution there before the window shuts, and the recruitment team has been combing through options.
Fabrizio Romano has already outlined the landscape. United sounded out a move for Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde, but the numbers were simply too heavy for INEOS. Transfer fee and salary both came in at a level the co-owners are unwilling to touch at this stage.
“They had a call with Jorge Mendes one week ago, but the deal is too expensive: transfer fee and salary too expensive. Utd are not going to do that, at least not now,” Romano explained on his YouTube channel, adding that he expects the club to still bring in a left-back before the deadline.
So United have shifted their gaze.
Instead of a marquee name, the club are weighing what Romano described as a “solution” signing – a reliable, experienced full-back who can slot in, compete for minutes and arrive with an international profile. He likened the type of deal to the loan move for Sergio Reguilon from Tottenham, a pragmatic stop-gap rather than a headline-grabber.
That is where Bradley Locko enters the frame.
The Brest left-back, 24, has emerged as one of the players ready to make the jump if United come calling. Journalist Dylan McBennett reported on X that Locko would be open to joining Carrick’s side in the final days of the summer window.
“If United are looking for ‘solutions’ at left-back, Bradley Locko among names that would be open to joining the club before the transfer deadline,” McBennett posted at 8:59am on August 28, adding that he is one of “numerous left-backs with desire to join United this summer.”
Locko has been with Brest since 2023 and is tied to the Ligue 1 club until 2027. He has already clocked 67 appearances in all competitions for them, contributing five assists from left-back. Not spectacular numbers, but enough to suggest a steady, progressive outlet on the flank rather than a pure defensive stopper.
For United, the equation is straightforward. They want a left-back. They are not willing to pay Balde money. They have days, not weeks, to solve it.
Locko is willing. Brest hold him under contract. The window is ticking. Who blinks first?
