United’s red-hot pursuit of Carlos Baleba hangs in the balance over one key factor at Old Trafford – Fabrizio Romano

Manchester United remain on the hunt for Carlos Baleba with Ruben Amorim driving the club’s interest in the 21-year-old midfielder – but there could be a twist in the tale, according to Fabrizio Romano.

More Fuel in the engine room

The Red Devils identified the Brighton starlet as a key target to buttress the midfield in the summer after Amorim identified a need for more athleticism.

Baleba has emerged as one of the best young midfielders throughout Europe since arriving on the south coast from LOSC Lille in 2023.

Demonstrating a potent pairing of physicality and acceleration, combined with excellent ball-progression skills and the ability to dominate transitions, Brighton’s number 17 appears tailor made for Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 system.

But the Seagulls are wily operators in the transfer market and will never sell a player until they are absolutely ready to do so.

And in the case of Baleba, both manager Fabian Hurzeler and the executive structure at the Amex Stadium agreed the team were not ready to lose the Cameroon international ahead of the new season.

As such, Brighton refused to even entertain talks over the prospect of a deal, despite Baleba’s willingness to make the switch to Old Trafford, and United backed off to maintain good relations with their Premier League competitor.

But important groundwork has already been established, making the prospect of a transfer more likely should the Red Devils revisit a move next year – but Romano contends this will depend on one key factor.

Amorim’s future will influence a move for Baleba

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano confirms United are “keeping a close eye” on Baleba because he is “appreciated” by the executive and recruitment teams at Old Trafford.

But the Italian transfer guru stresses the youngster is “very, very, very much appreciated” by Amorim – and this means the Portuguese coach’s future will have an “impact” on United’s pursuit of Baleba.

This suggests if Amorim were to be dismissed as head coach at the Theatre of Dreams, Baleba’s importance as a target may go with him. And there are a number of options elsewhere in the Premier League, such as Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton or Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson, with United linked to both players.

Baleba offers more athleticism and physicality in transitions than either of his peers – two invaluable attributes in Amorim’s system – but a different manager may prefer a deep-lying playmaker in the mould of Wharton or the box-to-box capability of Anderson.

<em<#>Featured image Mike Hewitt via Getty Images

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