Fabrizio Romano reported on Sunday morning that both clubs had exchanged and signed every document. The fee is 65 million pounds guaranteed plus 5 million in add-ons, with a sell-on clause for Brighton.
Manchester United have completed the signing of Carlos Baleba from Brighton and Hove Albion. Fabrizio Romano reported on the morning of 23 August that the two clubs had exchanged and signed all documents, and called the deal confirmed.
The structure was printed two days earlier by two other named reporters. David Ornstein at The Athletic and Simon Stone at BBC Sport both put it at 65 million pounds guaranteed with a further 5 million in add-ons, taking the maximum to 70 million. Brighton negotiated a sell-on clause. ESPN reported the same fee on the same day.
That is a long way down from where Brighton started. ESPN reported that Manchester United were quoted more than 100 million pounds for Baleba last summer. Stone put Manchester United's summer spending, after this deal, at 153 million pounds.
Baleba is 22, a Cameroon international, and he joined Brighton from Lille in 2023 on a contract that ran to 2028. He has not played a competitive match since pre-season. Goal reported that he is recovering from an ankle ligament injury picked up on Brighton's training camp, which kept him out of their Conference League qualifier.
He is the third central midfielder Manchester United have signed this summer. Youri Tielemans arrived from Aston Villa for a reported 35 million pounds and Andrey Santos from Chelsea for a reported 50 million. Casemiro left as a free agent. Manchester United confirmed in July that Manuel Ugarte had surgery on a knee ligament he ruptured with Uruguay at the World Cup, and he is expected to miss most of the season.
The signing lands the morning after Hull City beat Manchester United 2-0 at the MKM Stadium on the opening day of the Premier League season.
Sources: Fabrizio Romano, 23 August 2026, via Caught Offside (documents exchanged and signed, 65 million plus 5 million, sell-on clause); David Ornstein, The Athletic, 21 August 2026, via Goal (65 million guaranteed plus 5 million in add-ons, medical scheduled, ankle ligament injury, Conference League qualifier missed); Simon Stone, BBC Sport, 21 August 2026, via Yahoo Sports (initial 65 million, up to 70 million, sell-on clause, summer spending of 153 million); ESPN, 21 August 2026 (agreed fee, more than 100 million quoted last summer); Premier League official, 22 August 2026 (fixture list); Opta Analyst, 22 August 2026 (Hull City 2 Manchester United 0).