Two named reporters put the deal at the same figure on 21 August. Brighton and Hove Albion have let him travel. He is injured, and the earliest debut anyone has named is 13 September.
Manchester United have agreed a fee for Carlos Baleba, and on the morning their season starts he is at a medical rather than at the MKM Stadium.
Fabrizio Romano reported on 21 August that the deal is £65m plus £5m in add-ons, on a five-year contract with an option for a sixth. David Ornstein, reporting the same day, put the deal at £70m including bonuses and added that Brighton and Hove Albion have negotiated a sell-on clause. Two independent named reporters, the same total, no club announcement. That is CONFIRMED by this desk's standard, and it is still not a signing.
The sell-on clause comes from Ornstein alone, named on the claim, and is filed here as reported rather than settled.
This is the second attempt at the same player. Romano reported that Manchester United agreed personal terms with Baleba in the 2025 window and that Brighton and Hove Albion refused to sell. On 8 August this year Romano reported that Baleba was pushing to leave and had Manchester United as his one destination, with Liverpool also credited with interest. Brighton and Hove Albion held their price through June and July. They have now taken £70m and granted permission for the medical.
The fee does not buy a player for this month. Baleba picked up an ankle problem early in pre-season, and reporting on 20 August put him two to three weeks from fitness. That pushes a first appearance into September, and the Manchester City fixture on 13 September is the earliest date anyone has put a name to. It is a projection off a fitness estimate, not a club statement, and this desk carried a later return date from the Evening Standard on 20 August. The two readings differ on the week and agree on the month.
Baleba would be the third midfielder Manchester United have signed this window, after Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos from Chelsea. Michael Carrick picks a midfield at Hull City today, and none of it is affected by the fee agreed overnight.
Sources: Fabrizio Romano, 21 August 2026, via the Evening Standard's report by Tashan Deniran-Alleyne (£65m plus £5m in add-ons, verbal agreement between the clubs, five-year contract with an option for a sixth, medical booked for the weekend, permission to travel granted); David Ornstein, The Athletic, 21 August 2026 (deal worth £70m including bonuses, sell-on clause included); Fabrizio Romano, 8 August 2026 (Baleba pushing for the move, Manchester United his one destination, Liverpool interest, personal terms agreed in the 2025 window and Brighton and Hove Albion refusing to sell); reporting of 20 August 2026 on the ankle injury and a two-to-three-week timeline, with 13 September named as the earliest possible debut; prior verified desk entry, 20 August 2026 (the Evening Standard's late-September return date).
