At a fan forum last week, Brighton CEO Paul Barber insisted he had not spoken to United over Baleba, but was unable to provide any assurances over the midfielder’s future. ‘There’s always going to be interest in our players,’ he said.

Manchester United are set to make a second bid for Carlos Baleba this week after making the Brighton midfielder their next key transfer target. United have already spent more than £200million on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko to transform their forward line, and now Ruben Amorim wants to bolster his midfield.

All the latest Manchester transfer news as Ruben Amorim looks to bolster his squad before the new Premier League season gets underway