Manchester United's £70 Million Midfielder Carlos Baleba Injured
Manchester United will have to wait to unveil their £70 million midfield signing.
Carlos Baleba, brought in from Brighton to add fresh power and balance to Michael Carrick’s engine room, is expected to be sidelined for around three weeks with an ankle injury, delaying his Old Trafford debut just as anticipation was starting to build.
Big fee, brief pause
The 22-year-old completed his move from Brighton on Tuesday, joining Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans as part of United’s summer midfield overhaul. Inside the club, they see him as a cornerstone signing. Director of football Jason Wilcox has already labelled the Cameroon international “an elite midfielder with immense potential to develop further”.
But the first glimpse of him in red will have to wait.
Baleba arrived carrying an ankle problem that had already kept him out of Brighton’s Conference League fixtures and their Premier League opener. That knock now rules him out of Sunday’s Premier League home game against promoted Ipswich and the matches immediately after.
“He’s got a little ankle issue, so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks,” Carrick said. “We’ll see but we knew that before, so it’s no major issue but it’ll be great to have him back when we can.”
The injury is not viewed as serious, but it does force United to park their plans for an immediate midfield reshuffle.
Eyes on a reunion date
Carrick’s rough timeline points to a tantalising possibility: Baleba’s debut may come against his former club.
United host Brighton in the Carabao Cup before travelling to Fulham on September 20, their final outing before the international break. After that pause, Tottenham visit Old Trafford on October 10. Somewhere in that run, if recovery goes to plan, Baleba should finally step into the side he has been bought to transform.
Asked whether Baleba and Amad Diallo could feature again before the three-week international break, Carrick refused to lock in a date.
“It’s obviously new, the break to deal with, but we’ll wait and see,” he said. “We’re hopeful but I don’t want to put any deadlines on it just yet.”
Amad’s absence will last longer. “Amad won’t be involved this week. He’ll be out for a little bit longer,” Carrick confirmed.
There was at least one bright medical bulletin. “Mase (Mason Mount) is back around the group, which was great. Trained this week, so that’s a big positive for us.”
A different kind of midfielder
Inside the dressing room and in the stands, the delay has not dampened the sense that Baleba can change the feel of United’s midfield.
“We’re delighted to have Carlos,” Carrick said. “I think huge potential, massive potential. I think he’s a really exciting signing for us.
“I think the quality that he has, the attributes that he has that offsets a little bit of the balance of the group that we’ve got. Different strengths, different combinations.
“So, for us to have that, absolutely delighted to have him. I think there’s so much more to come from him as well, which with the player that he already is with that little bit more to come is exciting for us.”
United have chased exactly that: a midfielder who offers something different, who can tilt the blend alongside Santos, Tielemans and the existing core. For now, the idea of Baleba is all they have. The reality must wait for that ankle to settle.
Response required after nightmare start
The timing of the setback is awkward. United are already searching for a reaction after a bruising opening to their league campaign, a 2-0 defeat away to play-off winners Hull that jarred badly with pre-season optimism.
Carrick turned to his heavyweights at half-time in that loss. Marcus Rashford came on after being given extra rest following the World Cup, with Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo also thrown into the fray in an effort to salvage something from a flat display.
“We’ve got a squad to choose from,” Carrick said. “We’ve got a good squad and we could pick a variety kind of combinations within the team. We’ll pick a team for the weekend but, yeah, certainly the boys are massively in contention.”
The message is clear: no excuses, even without the new £70m man. The squad is deep enough, the options varied enough, to respond immediately.
Baleba will watch those first steps from the sidelines, ankle on the mend, waiting for his moment. When it comes, and when he finally walks out at Old Trafford, will he be the piece that shifts this United side from promise to something more concrete?
