Carlos Baleba goes into the international break with Manchester United 12th in the Premier League and on 5 points from 5 games. He has still not played a Premier League minute this season, but the club are talking about his return from injury as a possible fix for a midfield that has looked short on pace and ball-winning.

Baleba's profile and United's midfield gap

The case for Baleba starts with what he already did at Brighton. He was one of only two central midfielders to top 34 kilometres per hour in 2024/2025, and his 92 tackles and interceptions combined ranked joint-sixth among central midfielders in the top flight.

That fits United's need. Their data department rated him in the top one per cent for second balls won in the Premier League and the top eight per cent for combined tackles and interceptions. Jason Wilcox has also backed the move publicly, saying: "Carlos is an elite midfielder with immense potential to develop further."

David Pagou, Cameroon manager, said Baleba is still well below his best. "And [reminded him] to focus on his game. I think that today he's raised his level, but that's only 50 percent of the Baleba we know. If he decides to turn a corner, he'll rediscover his level from last season, and then even more," Pagou said, quoted by manchestereveningnews.co.uk.

Recovery and the Tottenham timeline

The pause is injury-related, not tactical. Baleba arrived with an ankle ligament injury picked up during pre-season with Brighton, returned to light training on grass in mid-September and then joined the main group in full work. He was also an unused substitute at Craven Cottage in United's 1-1 draw with Fulham.

Pagou's comments suggest the physical side is only part of the story. He also said Baleba had "problems, family problems" and that it had been a question of "mental recovery" when he joined Cameroon. That makes the present run of training sessions more important than any hype around the signing.

United paid £70million for him after initially being priced out of a move last summer, so the expectation is obvious. The next real test is the meeting with Tottenham in 11 days, and United will want to see whether the ball-winning and recovery work carry straight into Premier League minutes.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →