Wayne Rooney Backs Carlos Baleba as Key Midfield Signing for Manchester United
Wayne Rooney is convinced Carlos Baleba is about to change the face of Manchester United’s midfield – and he is having none of the talk that the Brighton player “went missing” last season.
United are closing in on a deal worth up to £70 million for the 22-year-old Cameroon midfielder, who is set to become their third midfield arrival of the summer after Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos. The move comes as part of a rapid rebuild in the middle of the pitch following Casemiro’s departure and a serious knee injury to Manuel Ugarte.
Speaking on the Stick to United with Wayne Rooney podcast on Disney+, the club’s all-time leading scorer was emphatic about what Baleba will bring.
“I really like him, I think he's a really good signing,” Rooney said. “We need another midfield player with a bit of physicality and I know he's not six-foot-four or whatever but he covers the ground really well, he's aggressive, he takes the ball, and is what we need. He's a very good player who will improve the team massively.”
United’s need for exactly that kind of energy and bite was laid bare on Saturday. Tielemans and Santos both started but could not stop a flat United side from sliding to a 2-0 defeat away to newly promoted Hull in the Premier League. The performance only sharpened the focus on the club’s recruitment drive and the urgency behind it.
Rooney, though, sees the emerging competition as a positive rather than a problem.
“It will be interesting with Tielemans, Santos and [Kobbie] Mainoo but this is what it should be. Competition for places. If you don't play well, you don't play,” he said.
Baleba has been on United’s radar for some time. Last season, Brighton were reported to have slapped a £100m price tag on him after interest from Old Trafford. The big move never materialised and his campaign stalled: he started only 23 Premier League games and did not score, prompting suggestions that he had gone “missing” on the south coast once the transfer failed to happen.
Rooney pushed back strongly against that narrative.
“I don't think he went missing. The chance doesn't come around that often to play for Manchester United, so you don't know what effect that has,” he said. “There's no denying his ability as a player. I think he is a top player.”
United’s hierarchy clearly agree. After losing Casemiro’s experience and presence and then watching Ugarte go down with a long-term injury, they have thrown their weight behind a younger, more mobile midfield core: Tielemans’ passing range, Santos’ promise, Mainoo’s composure – and now Baleba’s power and aggression.
The question is no longer whether United are rebuilding their midfield. It is how quickly Baleba can turn Rooney’s faith into something concrete on the pitch.
