Carlos Baleba joked about a transfer to Manchester United ahead of Brighton’s Premier League match at Old Trafford on Saturday.
United made an approach to sign Baleba in the summer transfer window, however, Brighton gave no encouragement to their Premier League rivals.
‘I don’t think Baleba was a saga,’Brighton chairman Tony Bloom told The Argus earlier this month.
‘There was interest from Manchester United, and we said that he wasn’t available this summer and they went away.
‘So we’ve had many bigger sagas in the past. But Carlos Baleba, his improvement has been immense. Massively important player to this football club, and just delighted that he’s with us for this season.’
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United supporters will be able to get a closer look at Baleba in action on Saturday as United host Brighton in the 5.30pm kick off.
Ahead of the game, Baleba appeared to reference his transfer link with United as he posted a preview graphic of the match on his Instagram account with the caption, ‘Coming to Old Trafford’, and a laughing face emoji.
Baleba then deleted the image from his Instagram story and re-uploaded the same graphic but without the caption.
Meanwhile, Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler has revealed that Baleba needed ‘honest feedback’ after he was substituted at half-time in the 2-2 draw with Tottenham and the 1-1 draw away to Wolves.
‘For me, it’s always important that I’m very transparent with the players,’ Hurzeler told Sky Sports.
‘I have a very good relationship with Carlos. We speak regularly, we are in touch. I always share my thoughts about his development and my thoughts about his performance.
‘It’s important to be very clear about what you expect from players on the pitch, off the pitch. And it’s important to build relationships where you can criticise or give personal feedback they might not be happy about, but they understand the intention behind it.
‘Carlos won’t get better if he only gets compliments and claps from outside. I think he will get better if he has a safe environment, but also honest feedback where he knows what he needs to improve. That’s where we try to support him and make him better.’
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