Man United Target Fifth Summer Signing as Baleba Deal Approaches
Manchester United open 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 market.
One or more of their new arrivals could walk straight into Michael Carrick’s first league XI at the MKM Stadium. Youri Tielemans, snapped up from Aston Villa, and Andrey Santos, brought in from Chelsea, are both pushing hard for starts. Carrick, now confirmed as permanent manager after steering United into the Champions League during his interim spell, suddenly has midfield options. He wants more.
And he might be about to get it.
Baleba close – and then a left-back push
Carlos Baleba is back on United’s agenda and is expected to be the next signing through the door. There are still “a few loose ends to tie up” on the deal, as reported by MEN Sport on Friday, but United are working to wrap it up quickly.
Once Baleba is in, attention is set to swing to the left side of defence. That would make a new left-back the club’s fifth senior signing of the summer.
Luke Shaw remains the undisputed first choice, but Champions League football changes the landscape. United know they cannot lean on one man across four competitions and an unforgiving schedule. They want depth now and a succession plan for later.
Lewis Hall, now at Newcastle after his Chelsea breakthrough, has been highlighted as a key target, though Newcastle’s stance has been firm. Unless they soften, United may be forced to wait or walk away.
If they do, two Spanish options are already on the table. Jorge Salinas has been discussed internally, while Alejandro Balde’s name has also been floated in connection with a possible move. Should Hall prove unattainable, one of that Iberian pair could quickly move to the top of United’s list.
Arteta shuts door on Lewis-Skelly
One door, though, looks firmly closed.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has moved decisively to end talk of a Myles Lewis-Skelly exit, insisting the teenager will “100 per cent” remain at the Emirates Stadium when the window shuts. That stance effectively kills off any realistic prospect of United – or Chelsea – swooping for the highly rated youngster.
Arteta underlined exactly why Arsenal are digging their heels in.
“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.”
So United will have to look elsewhere for their next great academy raid. The midfield rebuild is accelerating, the left-back hunt is ready to ignite, and with Carrick now at the helm full-time, the shape of this new United is being drawn in real time as the season kicks off.
