Manchester United expect to address a persistent midfield shortfall in the January 2026 transfer window. Diego Le\u00f3n was brought in as a backup option out wide, but the problematic midfield area remained defiantly untouched. That crucial slice of the pitch will be bolstered by at least one recruit in 2026, Fabrizio Romano claims.<\/p>\n
United were heavily linked with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion\u2019s Carlos Baleba this summer only to be scared off by an astronomical asking price of more than \u00a3100 million. The club\u2019s interest in Baleba reportedly persists, but the likelihood of a renewed bid at the start of next year is uncertain. Only two other players in football history have ever commanded a nine-digit fee in January\u2014Enzo Fern\u00e1ndez to Chelsea in 2023 and Philippe Coutinho\u2019s 2018 switch to Barcelona.<\/p>\n
If Baleba is effectively out of reach, United have alternatives under consideration. The Old Trafford outfit were linked with an approach for Amorim\u2019s former Sporting CP captain Morten Hjulmand over the summer. The 26-year-old Dane has a contract until 2028 but isn\u2019t likely to command anywhere near the sum demanded for Baleba. That combination of contractual security and a lower asking price makes Hjulmand a feasible target should United pursue a more affordable midfield solution.<\/p>\n
Negotiations for players at Sporting are rarely straightforward. However, as Arsenal discovered during their tense negotiations for Viktor Gy\u00f6keres , Sporting can be tough negotiators. For United the challenge will be balancing ambition against market reality: securing a genuine upgrade in midfield while navigating prices that have reached previously unthinkable levels for January dealings.<\/p>\n
The club\u2019s recruitment focus is clear. With at least one midfield arrival expected in January 2026, the next transfer window will reveal whether United chase a high-value target or opt for a more attainable alternative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Man United plan at least one midfield signing in January 2026; Baleba linked but price remains issue<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2597,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[179,172],"tags":[215,938,59],"class_list":["post-2598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-manchester-united","category-epl","tag-carlos-baleba","tag-deadline-day","tag-featured"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598","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=2598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}