2 September 2026

Manchester United only ‘turned to’ Carlos Baleba after Arsenal toughened their position on a possible sale of Myles Lewis-Skelly, according to reports.

The Red Devils made midfield reinforcement a major priority in the summer transfer window, with Manchester United setting out early to bring in three new midfield signings.

At the start of the window, it had appeared that Atalanta’s Ederson would be their first arrival in that role, but the move collapsed after the World Cup because of medical concerns.

Manchester United then moved swiftly to sign Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa and Andrey Santos from Chelsea, before finally completing a deal for Baleba in late August.

There had been a feeling that Baleba might have missed his opportunity to join Manchester United after the Red Devils were unable to sign him 12 months earlier.

But The Athletic’s Laurie Whitwell has now revealed that Manchester United seemed to be on course to potentially sign Arsenal star Lewis-Skelly, who is capable of playing at left-back as well as in midfield, before they eventually went for Baleba.

With Baleba already identified last summer, Manchester United chose to ‘hit pause and pursue other options first’, with ‘a sense of uncertainty over his arrival as recently as the weekend before United made their decisive move’.

Whitwell says Manchester United were ‘giving serious consideration to staging a proper bid for Lewis-Skelly’ before they eventually ‘turned to’ Baleba.

Writing in The Athletic, Whitwell said: ‘Earlier on in the summer United had been told, via intermediaries, that he could be available for around £45m, and such a prospect held appeal at Old Trafford. He had played the entire Champions League final in midfield but started only two Premier League games by January and then did not feature at all in the top-flight until April. His position under Mikel Arteta appeared precarious.

‘The situation was complicated, though, by Lewis-Skelly’s status as an Arsenal academy product with a strong connection to the fans. He also wanted to stay. It would have been a dramatic transfer, with PR implications. The potential price rose significantly, with a figure of £70m communicated to some close to the process, although United were never informed of an updated figure.’

Manchester United ‘made the decision to step away from talks exactly a fortnight before deadline’ and that then led to them quickly wrapping up a deal for Baleba.

Former Brighton midfielder Baleba is still waiting to make his Manchester United debut, with Michael Carrick revealing that the Cameroon international is likely to be out for another three weeks because of an ankle injury.

Carrick said in a press conference last Friday: “He’s got a little ankle issue so maybe a couple of weeks or so, maybe three weeks.

“But we knew that before, so it’s no major issue. It’ll be great to have him when we can.”

When asked whether Baleba could return before the international break, Carrick added: “We’ll wait and see. We’re hopeful, but I don’t want to put any deadlines on it just yet.”