Manchester United have shifted their midfield recruitment plans after interest in Carlos Baleba stalled. Reports say United were priced out of a move for Baleba, with one account claiming the club could offer \u00a380m up front and make up the difference with add-ons. Jadon Sancho could also be offered in a partial swap, though that is not expected to woo the Seagulls, who are well stocked for wide talent.<\/p>\n
With Baleba increasingly unlikely, United have identified three alternative options to bolster their midfield. The first is Adam Wharton, a player linked with moves away from Selhurst Park. Real Madrid scouts have been reported to watch his progress, and he has spurned interest from Liverpool and Tottenham this summer. Crystal Palace are expected to fight to keep him south of the Thames as Oliver Glasner looks to stem the flow of players leaving the club. Key players Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi are also the subject of transfer interest.<\/p>\n
Another candidate on United\u2019s list is Morten Hjulmand of Sporting CP. The 26-year-old Denmark international scored in Sporting\u2019s Liga Portugal opener, a 2-0 win over Casa Pia. Despite that, United have concerns about whether he is physically suited to the demands of the Premier League.<\/p>\n
Atalanta\u2019s Ederson has also been earmarked as an option. The occasional Brazil international scored four Serie A goals from defensive midfield last season, offering a proven scoring return from a deeper role.<\/p>\n
An opening line in the market also suggested the Seagulls look to have succeeded in deterring Ruben Amorim\u2019s interest. That development, and Brighton\u2019s depth on the wings, help explain why a Sancho-involved swap would not be persuasive for the club holding Baleba\u2019s registration.<\/p>\n
United\u2019s recruitment appears pragmatic: pursue alternatives while balancing physical profiles, recent form and the likely resistance from selling clubs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
United draw up three-man midfield shortlist after Carlos Baleba move looks increasingly unlikely. now<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179],"tags":[216,215,59,182],"class_list":["post-1667","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-united","tag-adam-wharton","tag-carlos-baleba","tag-featured","tag-transfers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1667"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1669,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1667\/revisions\/1669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1667"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1667"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1667"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}