Atletico Madrid midfielder 'not satisfied' as Manchester United weigh up midfield transfer options - including January move for Brighton man

Speculation regarding Carlos Baleba’s Brighton future has resurfaced as the countdown to the January transfer window begins.

The subject of interest from Manchester United in the summer, the 21-year-old midfielder is once again being linked with a move to Old Trafford, with Red Devils boss Ruben Amorim reportedly keen to reinforce his engine-room ranks.

Those whispers intensified further over the weekend, after the Cameroon international was responsible for a cryptic message on Instagram that has been interpreted as as sign that he’s holding out for a move to United.

Indeed, Baleba shared a post uploaded by former Brighton team-mate Joao Pedro that shows him pointing to the sky alongside the words: “Don’t try to rush what God is taking time to prepare.”

Yet words attributed to another reported Manchester United midfield target, Conor Gallagher, could also be deciphered as those of a player open to a move - at Baleba’s expense!

The England international has seen his game time at Atletico Madrid diminish this season, following 50 appearances and 27 starts in all competitions for Diego Simone’s side last term. The 25-year-old has featured 16 times to date in 2025-26, but only four of those have come as via the starting XI. The former Chelsea captain’s last appearance from the beginning came against Rayo Vallecano on September 24.

With Gallagher not included in Thomas Tuchel’s latest England squad for their World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Albania, his chances of making the plane to next year’s finals are in serious jeopardy.

And while he admitted he’s happy at the Metropolitano Stadium, where he’s contracted until 2029, he confessed he wasn’t pleased with his lack of minutes on the pitch.

Speaking to Diario AS, Gallagher said: ‘I’m not satisfied. I don’t think anyone will be if they don’t play as much as they would like, but I will continue to work very hard to, whenever I have the opportunity, help the team and hopefully more opportunities will come to be a starter.

‘I’m very happy here. My goal is to win titles with Atleti and I want to have a bigger role in the team. And, as I said, I’m going to continue working to the maximum to play more minutes and be able to help the team.’

Baleba, who has made 14 appearances for Brighton this season and has struggled to repeat last season’s heroics for Albion, will definitely play no part in next year’s World Cup Finals in USA, Canada and Mexico after Cameroon lost to DR Congo on Thursday, allowing them to progress to a Africa play-off final against Nigeria.

Gallagher still has a chance to be part of Tuchel’s plans, though, and knows what he has to do to be named in his 2026 squad.

Whether a move back to England and potentially Manchester United provides him with that chance remains to be seen. In the meantime, Gallagher will continue to give his best to get back into Simone’s first-team plans at Atletico.

‘That’s one of my goals,’ he said. ‘I have spoken to Thomas Tuchel and he has told me what he needs from me and what I have to do to return to the team. And it seems that, right now, it’s very difficult for me to get to that point.

‘But, as I said before, I will continue to do my best to get more minutes and, hopefully, return to the national team.’

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