Man Utd players desperately trying to convince Ruben Amorim target to join

A number of Manchester United players are in contact with Carlos Baleba and are trying to convince the Brighton midfielder to move to Old Trafford.

Baleba, 21, has emerged as a target for United boss Ruben Amorim following his impressive form on the south coast.

Manchester United have focussed on bolstering Amorim’s attacking options this summer – signing Benjamin Sesko, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo from RB Leipzig, Wolves and Brentford respectively.

But United’s midfield struggled to control games last season and Amorim is believed to be open to bringing in a new enforcer before the transfer deadline.

While the Red Devils have expressed interest in Cameroon international Baleba, Brighton have no intention of selling this summer and value the player at more than £100m.

That staggering asking price has kept Manchester United at bay so far but ‘multiple’ current Old Trafford players are reportedly doing all they can to boost the club’s transfer bid.

According to The Athletic’s David Ornstein, who appeared on The Sports Agents podcast, a number of United players have been in contact with Baleba and ‘explained the club’s project’ to the midfielder.

‘Brighton, understandably, won’t be happy about that,’ he added. ‘They’ll see this as an attempt to unsettle their player.’

At a fan forum last week, Brighton CEO Paul Barber insisted he had not spoken to United over Baleba, but was unable to provide any assurances over the midfielder’s future.

‘There’s always going to be interest in our players,’ he said. ‘Manchester United have not been in touch with me.

‘Speculation is speculation. Carlos is a fantastic talent. We hope he’ll be here for years to come – but its subject to the dynamics of the football world, which isn’t always predictable.’

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, meanwhile, has said he is ‘not afraid’ of losing key players to bigger clubs during transfer windows.

The Seagulls have sanctioned the departure of a number of senior players in recent years, most recently selling Joao Pedro to Chelsea.

‘No chance. I don’t feel fear,’ Hurzeler told the Monday Night Club when asked if he worries about having to sell key members of his squad.

‘I’m not afraid of anything because the only thing we can do is be the best version we can be every day, like work as hard as we can.

‘All the other things we can’t influence, so we really have to focus on us. For sure, we can’t spend the money like the big teams but one of our biggest values is togetherness.

‘And if you stay together, if we try to push our limits and increase the boundaries, then I’m sure we can compete with the big teams.’

Baleba’s form at Brighton has attracted interest from Manchester City as well as Manchester United.

Joining the recent Premier League champions would likely be a tempting proposition but Wes Brown says Baleba should snub Man City for his beloved United.

‘Manchester United have a big heritage and a big history,’ he told Metro. ‘You can see with the signings we’ve made that we’re tyring to get back to winning ways.

‘He’s done really well. He’s a player who has probably been under the radar a little bit. He’s quick, sharp, he has a brilliant left foot, he gets in your face and he can tackle.

‘I think he’s the sort of player the manager is looking for in midfield. He’s be very exciting. He’d put a stamp on the midfield along with Bruno Fernandes. He’d be a really positive buy.’

Manchester United begin their Premier League campaign on Sunday against Arsenal, while Baleba’s Brighton take on Fulham.

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