'Coming to Old Trafford' - Manchester United transfer target teases fans in deleted social media post

Carlos Baleba teased Manchester United fans ahead of his trip to Old Trafford with Brighton and Hove Alboin this weekend. The 21-year-old was identified as a transfer target in the summer window, and United enquired with Brighton over a possible move for the midfielder.

The Seagulls made it clear they had no interest in a summer sale and told United they would have to place a club-record bid in the region of £115 million to make a move happen. Brighton used their previous sale of Moises Caicedo to Chelsea as a benchmark for any Baleba sale.

United sources insisted they never saw midfield as a 'priority' position this year, though they are expected to overhaul their options next year with at least two signings required. One of those is expected to be a marquee addition and Ruben Amorim would love to add a Premier League-proven midfielder to his squad.

Baleba teases fans in deleted post

It is no secret Carlos Baleba would love to join Manchester United, though he did not ask to leave Brighton this summer and is expected to remain on the South Coast for the remainder of the season.

Baleba could be on United's radar again next summer, but only if he maintains his recent form after a difficult start to the season. The Cameroon international will hope to show Ruben Amorim what he is missing when Brighton travel to face United in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

Taking to social media on the morning of the match, Baleba uploaded a matchday graphic to his Instagram story along with the caption: 'Coming to Old Trafford,' followed by a laughing emoji. Although it was clearly a joke, the post was quickly deleted by the Brighton star and reuploaded without the caption.

Hurzeler sends Baleba warning

Speaking on the eve of the match, Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler addressed the transfer interest in his midfielder: "I think it's the next step for him as a person, as a personality to overcome the rumours and the noise because it's only the noise that tries to distract him from performing for us for Brighton," he said.

"The main thing, and it's not only for us here regarding development, in general for his career, he needs to focus on what he can control because he can't influence the rumours and the noise, only the things he does on the pitch."

He added: "I think it's very important to understand that we saw some really good actions from Baleba against Newcastle and I'm pleased to hear this. It's always the most important how a player feels, that he feels like he's getting back to his own.

"Now it's about all the behaviours that he showed against Newcastle and making them into habits, if you do it consistently, daily business, every training showing these behaviours and actions then you get habits. I feel also that he's getting back more and more to his shape and hopefully he can continue with that performance tomorrow."

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