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Manchester United fans have expressed concern over their team's moderate levels of transfer activity ahead of Michael Carrick's first full season at the helm.
A 4-2 defeat to AC Milan and former boss Ruben Amorim in their final pre-season friendly was particularly hard to swallow.
However, United's approach in the transfer market has remained focused on a specific area of the team that needed major surgery.
And during a transfer window when prices for top-tier central midfielders have been spiraling, the Old Trafford hierarchy could be within touching distance of pulling off a significant coup.
Carlos Baleba to Man United: Brighton receive £60m bid
As reported by The Athletic, Manchester United have made an offer of £60 million ($81m) for Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Carlos Baleba, plus £5m in add-ons.
Both the Athletic and the BBC expect this to come in beneath Brighton's valuation, but it is considerably lower than the fee in excess of £100m that Albion attached to the Cameroon international when United were in pursuit last summer.
Plenty has changed since then, not least United's manager and tactical approach, after Amorim's ill-fated reign gave way to the free-rolling optimism of Carrick's initially interim tenure.
Baleba also endured a disappointing season at Brighton under Fabian Hurzeler last season. He was substituted 15 times, including four halftime withdrawals, with a consensus forming that United's failed attempt to secure a deal for him had a negative impact.
The 22-year-old also endured some fitness woes, but such peaks and troughs can be common for players at an early stage of development, and United understandably have seen good reasons to go back in for the former Lille player.
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Man United's £150m midfield rebuild
Okay, so the overall figure will come in at more than £150m, assuming Brighton reject United's initial advance.
Nevertheless, the Old Trafford club are moving towards completing an impressive refit of central midfield after the signings of Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.
Santos joined from Chelsea in a £50m deal, while Belgium playmaker Tielemans represented excellent value because he had a £35m release clause in his contract at Aston Villa.
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Why do Man United need Baleba as third new midfielder?
Amorim's departure meant a switch from the 3-4-2-1 to which the Portuguese was grimly wedded. Bruno Fernandes was frequently selected as one of the two deeper central midfielders in that setup, with two of United's wingers typically playing in the support attacking positions behind the striker.
Carrick oversaw an instant switch to 4-2-3-1, with Fernandes given greater freedom and license to raid forward as a conventional No. 10. Kobbie Mainoo's reintegration and Casemiro's resurgence before a fond Old Trafford farewell at the end of the season helped to take care of the two central midfield positions.
Casemiro's departure left a clear hole in the squad, while Manuel Ugarte suffered a serious knee injury during Uruguay's World Cup campaign. United had to take action.
Tielemans will bring creativity as a deep-lying playmaker and Santos operates as a more disciplined and no-frills defensive midfield presence. If he joins them, Baleba promises a badly needed uplift in United's physicality in central areas. Ostensibly a CDM, Baleba has a fine combination of technique and athleticism that means he can be a box-to-box threat.
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Midfielder prices in summer 2026
Refitting the midfield has not come cheap for United's Premier League counterparts during this transfer window.
Neighbours Manchester City broke their transfer record by bringing in Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m. United had also been credited with an interest in the 23 -year-old. The transfer made Anderson the most expensive British player in history, briefly, before Chelsea paid Aston Villa £117m for his England teammate Morgan Rogers.
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If City follow through on their interest in Chelsea's Argentina international Enzo Fernandez, it is expected to require a fee in excess of both of those, while Lille's Morocco teenager Ayyoub Bouaddi has reportedly been Etihad Stadium-bound at a fee of £85m for some time.
That's the same amount Tottenham needed to secure Matheus Fernandes from relegated West Ham, while the deal to bring Newcastle's Sandro Tonali to north London was worth up to £100m.
Champions Arsenal also went shopping at St James' Park and paid £75m for the 28-year-old Bruno Guimaraes.
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