Brighton ‘reject Man Utd’s opening player-plus-cash swap deal’ for £115million-rated Carlos Baleba

BRIGHTON have turned down Manchester United’s opening bid for Carlos Baleba.

United are looking for midfield reinforcement after boosting their attack with the arrival of Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo as well as Benjamin Sesko and have identified Baleba, 21, as their top target.

According to The Standard, Man Utd launched a player-plus-cash swap offer for the Cameroon international.

The Red Devils offered Toby Collyer in a part-exchange deal for the defensive midfielder.

This comes following recent reports suggesting the Seagulls would only begin to consider a bid worth over the £115million they accepted for the sale of Moises Caicedo to Chelsea in 2023.

And Fabian Hurzeler’s side has insisted Baleba is not for sale this summer.

Nevertheless, United remain undeterred and are planning to continue pushing for the Cameroonian’s signature.

Baleba missed Brighton’s last three pre-season games, having not played since mid-July.

But it was reported the midfielder has been struggling with a knee injury picked up in training and was with the rest of the squad on Saturday to watch his team-mates in action against Wolfsburg.

Brighton, though, are still preparing for Baleba’s potential exit with a succession plan.

Diego Gomez and Malick Yalcouye are already posing as potential successors in midfield.

Jack Hinshelwood, Matt O’Riley, Mats Wieffer and Yasin Ayari are also pushing for more minutes this coming season.

This is a tried-and-tested formula for Brighton as they’ve lost key players in the past, such as Yves Bissouma, Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister, only for others to step up and fill in.