Man Utd have fixed their goal-shy attack - but signing Brighton star Carlos Baleba would turn rebuilding Red Devils into Premier League title contenders

United actually scored plenty of goals in their run to last season's Europa League final, their 35 strikes making them the third-highest scoring team in the competition's history. The fact that they failed to score against Premier League opposition in Spurs, though, was no real surprise; they have struggled to make the net bulge in the domestic competition for some time, even when things are going well.

The Red Devils struck a meagre 44 times in the 2024-25 Premier League, earning them the fifth-lowest goal count in the league. It was the least amount of goals they had scored in the Premier League era and the lowest since they were relegated in 1974. But it was not exactly an anomaly. They scored just 57 goals in 2023-24, the joint-ninth-highest in the league, and even when they finished third in 2022-23 they scored only 58 times, the joint-eighth-best tally in the league along with Brentford.

United have not scored more than 60 goals in a league season since 2020-21, and heir tally from that campaign, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's last complete season and one played almost entirely without fans, is the only time they have breached the 70-goal mark since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013. By contrast, they only failed to score 70 goals or more in one of the Scot's final eight seasons in charge, and they still managed to win the title that year.

Ferguson's last season in charge also marked the last time that a United player scored 20 Premier League goals, and the club are hoping that Mbeumo will be able to break that 12-year cycle after netting 20 times for Brentford last term. Cunha, meanwhile, struck 15 goals for Wolves even though they were fighting relegation for much of the campaign.

Those two transfers met Amorim's criteria of signing players with proven track records in the Premier League, and although Sesko does not have that same experience of English football, he has been the most prolific player under the age of 23 in Europe's top-five leagues over the past two seasons. With Mbeumo and Cunha next to him, as well as Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo joining attacks to add further support, there is no reason why Sesko cannot replicate his goal feats for RB Leipzig in a red shirt. 

Having prolific scorers will make a huge difference to United as they didn't actually struggle to create chances last season, despite all their problems. Amorim's side ranked sixth in chances created while Fernandes created more goal-scoring opportunities per game than any other player in the top-flight.

But while the attacking issues seems to have been solved, United still have big problems in midfield. Amorim wasn't shy about saying so following the team's first pre-season game of the summer against Leeds, when he lamented: "We had a lack of pace, especially in the middle of the park."

Indeed, none of United's midfielders really scream 'athleticism'. Casemiro has struggled with the Premier League's intensity for the last two seasons while Kobbie Mainoo stands out for his technical ability rather than his physical prowess. The same is true of Fernandes, even though the captain is remarkably durable and almost never misses matches through injury. Toby Collyer, who played a handful of matches last season after breaking through from the academy, is very much a work in progress.

Manuel Ugarte, meanwhile, is impressive physically and is probably United's most reliable winner of the ball, but his deficiencies in possession are becoming ever more concerning. His passing is sloppy and he has a tendency to get mugged in dangerous areas, such as when a giveaway led to Everton scoring in the club's final game of their tour of the United States. 

It says a lot that despite Amorim working with Ugarte at Sporting CP, he left him out of the team for the Europa League final. The coach has also not been convinced by Mainoo and played him in a variety of positions before he picked up an injury in February, while he only called on the England international sparingly after he returned.

Baleba, however, has the perfect blend of physical power and technical quality that United's current midfield lacks. The Brighton ma has been working on his physique ever since he was 10 years old, when he would do 'non-stop' running drills with his father which would last for two hours. He would also sprint between truck tyres to improve his agility, and would often land on the tyres with a summersault, something which he has incorporated into his goal celebrations.

Baleba told The Guardian: "It’s my dad. He said that if I learn how to do acrobatics then it will help my timing when I’m trying to read the ball or score a header. I would run up to a tyre and then jump on to it with either a front or back flip. It’s easy for me!"

Baleba was signed by Brighton in 2023 with a daunting remit to effectively replace Moises Caicedo after the Ecuadorian's £115m move to Chelsea. The Seagulls paid £23m to sign him from Lille despite him having only made 21 appearances for the French side, where he played alongside United defender Leny Yoro. He failed to initially secure a regular place in Roberto De Zerbi's starting XI either, despite the Italian describing Baleba as being "the future of Brighton".

De Zerbi's successor, Fabian Hurzeler, trusted Baleba far, so much so that last season only Jan Paul van Hecke and Bart Verbruggen played more Premier League minutes for the Seagulls than the 21-year-old. Baleba's influence was clear when he was on the pitch, but even more so when he was unavailable. For example, the Seagulls' 7-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest was one of the most shocking results of last season, and it came when Baleba was suspended. He subsequently returned to inspire Brighton to back-to-back victories over Chelsea, a 2-1 comeback win in the FA Cup and a 3-0 thrashing in the league.

"We all know that Carlos has an impact on our game because of his physicality and his quality in possession and he proved it in an impressive way," was how Hurzeler reacted to Baleba's performances against the Blues. "He played very mature and we are happy to have him back."

Baleba also earned plaudits for his performance in Brighton's comeback win over Manchester City in November. He began the game on the bench, but came on at half-time with his side trailing and produced an all-action display that demonstrated an array of qualities. He danced through Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva just outside his own area and then glided past Mateo Kovacic; he dispossessed Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne, Foden and Kovacic; he set up a one-on-one chance for Kaoru Mitoma with a through ball, and although Ederson saved on that occasion, Baleba later produced a line-breaking pass which led to Matt O'Riley scoring the winning goal.

United fans will also remember his excellent performance in their 3-1 home defeat to Brighton in January. On that occasion, Baleba dropped between Brighton's centre-backs and played a through-ball which Mitoma chased and crossed for Yankuba Minteh to break the deadlock in the fifth minute. After the match, Amorim was so furious with his players that he smashed a television in the changing room, but Baleba had been Brighton's standout player. He dominated both Mainoo and Ugarte, who were both withdrawn midway through the second half.

Baleba is a complete midfielder. He was among the top 25 percent of all Premier League midfielders for success rates in tackling, dribbling and aerial duels last term, while he ranked seventh among his fellow U23 players in Europe's top five leagues for retaining possession under pressure, often referred to as being 'press resistant'. 

In other words, he has all the attributes needed for Amorim's 3-4-3 system, which places extra demands on the two central midfielders. Indeed, the uniqueness of the coach's system explains why Mainoo, who was outstanding for England at Euro 2024 and a crucial member of Erik ten Hag's side, has struggled to impress the Portuguese.

Baleba would certainly be a perfect fit for United in the eyes of Rio Ferdinand: "I think he'll have a huge impact on this squad, on this team. You free up a few people in that midfield area as well to have a little less responsibility defensively because I think he's all-action. He can do it all."

Ferdinand's words came before United had signed Sesko, but he believed that getting Baleba was a bigger priority than the Slovenia striker. Now that United have added Sesko to complete their attack, it is only right that they address their biggest remaining problem and take their midfield to the next level.

Baleba will not be cheap, with Brighton currently valuing him at around £100m ($135m). However, his price is only going to climb, and this time next year he could be out of United's reach. The Red Devils have spent a lot already this summer, but they have the financial capacity to sign Baleba as they have a credit facility that allows them to borrow up to £140m. Their financial situation is also expected to improve soon when they sell Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea, while offloading Jadon Sancho and Antony could generate more funds.

It is no exaggeration to say that signing Baleba could turn United into genuine title contenders. Unlike Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal, the Red Devils will have no European football to distract them this season, and playing just once per week will make them fitter than their rivals and less likely to pick up injuries. Leicester City famously won the 2015-16 title thanks in part to not playing European football, and Chelsea did the same a year later.

There are several other notable parallels between that Chelsea and this United team: The Blues, interestingly, had endured an awful previous campaign, finishing 10th after being close to the relegation zone before sacking Jose Mourinho in December, only to then go on and win the league just a year later under Antonio Conte, who played the same 3-4-3 formation Amorim has made his hallmark. 

Most importantly of all, though, Chelsea signed one of the best midfielders in the league in N'Golo Kante after the Frenchman had inspired Leicester to their miraculous title win. Baleba could be United's version of Kante: The midfielder who completes Amorim's puzzle and turns his side from a disaster to title winners in just one year.