Baleba, Bouaddi complete Man Utd, City moves

Manchester United have completed the signing of Cameroon midfielder Carlos Baleba from Brighton for £70m, with the Old Trafford club paying an initial £65m, plus a potential £5m in add-ons. The 22-year-old will sign a five-year contract at United, with the option to extend for another year. Brighton negotiated a sell-on clause for the deal.

United strengthened their midfield after signing Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa this summer. Baleba, who joined Brighton from Lille in 2023, was initially valued at over £100m but United persisted with their offer. He has been sidelined with an ankle injury sustained during Brighton's pre-season training camp in Austria.

Meanwhile, Manchester City have signed 18-year-old Moroccan international Ayyoub Bouaddi on a five-year deal, subject to international clearance, for £81.4m plus £4.2m in add-ons. The move came after City sold Rodri to Barcelona for £65m and Tijjani Reinders to Al-Qadsiah for £52m. Bouaddi impressed at the 2024 World Cup, starting five of Morocco's six matches in their run to the quarter-finals after becoming a key member of Lille's side in Ligue 1.

The young midfielder made 96 appearances for Lille after his debut in 2023, helping them finish third in Ligue 1 last season. At 16, he became the youngest footballer to ever play for France's senior team. Bouaddi will bolster a revamped City midfield, which has also signed England midfielder Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest for £116m. Earlier this week, Brazilian winger Savinho, now known as Savio, joined Tottenham for £75m.