Brighton Must Leverage Manchester United's Interest in Carlos Baleba
Warren Aspinall believes Brighton should be ready to turn Manchester United’s interest in Carlos Baleba to their own advantage – by asking for Mason Mount.
The former Albion midfielder, now a regular pundit, floated the idea as speculation over Baleba’s future continues to swirl, even after a difficult campaign under Fabian Hurzeler.
A stalled move and a stalled season
Baleba looked destined for Old Trafford in the summer of 2025. The links were strong, the noise was loud, and the move felt close. It never happened.
What followed was a flat season. In Hurzeler’s Brighton side, the powerful midfielder never rediscovered the surging form of his breakthrough year. The promise that had made him a United target seemed to drift.
United, though, have not entirely gone away. They remain the only club with serious, concrete links to the 20-year-old, even as their own midfield has been reshaped at speed.
“I’d try to get Mason Mount”
Aspinall sees an opportunity if United come back.
"I was thinking – if Baleba did go to Manchester United then I'd see if I could get Mason Mount as part of the deal," he told the Albion Unlimited podcast.
It is not a throwaway line. Mount’s United career has never really caught fire since his move from Chelsea in 2023. Form and fitness have both deserted him at key moments, and the competition around him has just intensified.
"He's not going to be in the side because they've just signed two midfield players in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos," Aspinall said. "Those two and Kobbie Mainoo will be starters, so where does that leave Mount? They have good players coming through in the likes of Tyler Fletcher."
The picture is clear: Tielemans, Santos and Mainoo at the heart of United’s midfield, with a new generation pushing from underneath. Mount, once the blue-chip project player, suddenly looks like a spare part.
For Brighton, that profile – technically gifted, proven at the top level, searching for a reset – has often been fertile ground.
The other scenario: Baleba stays and must respond
There is every chance, though, that no bid comes. United have already added two midfielders in a week. The market may move elsewhere. Baleba may simply stay where he is.
If that happens, Aspinall believes the responsibility falls squarely on Hurzeler and the player himself.
"For Baleba, the manager has to sit him down in a one-to-one situation and say, 'look, just get your head down, do what you did not last season but the season before, and they will all come for you then'," he said.
That earlier version of Baleba – the one who stormed through midfield, snapped into duels and drove Brighton forward – is the player elite clubs noticed.
"They would all be after him because he's excellent. He's strong, powerful, breaks the lines very well. It was easy for him in certain games."
The warning is a familiar one in football. A “sniff” from a giant like Manchester United can turn a season in the wrong direction.
"Sometimes you get a sniff from a club like Manchester United and you start to think about that big move and big payday but it has not happened," Aspinall added. "You have to get your head down, go again, and see where it takes him."
Brighton’s midfield hinge
For Brighton, this is not a theoretical debate. Their rhythm often flows from the middle of the pitch, and Aspinall is in no doubt about Baleba’s importance if he stays.
"If he does stay he needs to knuckle down and he can have a great season at Brighton. If he plays well, Brighton play well because he wins that midfield battle. If he is at the top of his game he makes his team-mates believe."
That is the crux. Either Brighton leverage United’s interest to prise Mount away and reshape the midfield, or Hurzeler restores Baleba to the dominant force he once looked.
One way or another, Brighton’s season may be defined by what happens – or doesn’t happen – with a young midfielder and a club still hovering in the background.
