Revealed: The clause in Carlos Baleba's contract that explains Brighton's huge asking price amid Man Utd's pursuit of midfielder

Brighton, who are in no mood to be bullied in the market, have slapped a staggering £115 million (€133m/$156m) price tag on the 21-year-old. And now comes the sting in the tail: a sell-on clause buried in Baleba’s Brighton contract that hands 15 per cent of any transfer fee to his former club Lille, as reported by Fabrizio Romano. 

Lille inserted the clause when they allowed Baleba to leave for around £26m ($35m) two years ago. That small print means any buyer will effectively be paying £17.25m ($23m) straight into Lille’s coffers if Brighton’s £115m valuation is met. Without the clause, United could theoretically be negotiating for around £87.5m ($118m), still hefty, but a touch more realistic in today’s inflated market. Instead, the Seagulls are digging their heels in, determined to bank the full £115m, knowing that a chunk of it will be siphoned off to France.

Ruben Amorim, overseeing his first transfer window at Old Trafford, has already splashed over £200m ($269m) on reinforcements, with Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko arriving to reshape the attack. But the spending spree has left United under the microscope of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR). Selling players is now critical to balance the books, but that process has been frustratingly slow.

Alejandro Garnacho could be the club’s most valuable departure, with Chelsea circling for the Argentine starlet, while Napoli are circling for a loan deal for Rasmus Hojlund. Yet negotiations remain complicated, and other high-profile flops such as Jadon Sancho and Antony remain rooted to Old Trafford with no buyers in sight.

With Brighton playing hardball, United are now casting their net wider. One name firmly on the radar is Lucien Agoume, currently on the books at Sevilla. The Spanish club have set their asking price at around €30m (£25.9m/$35m), a far cry from Baleba’s sky-high valuation. Agoume’s figure even comes in below his reported €40m (£35m/$47m) release clause, making him a far more realistic option for United’s stretched finances.

For Brighton, this saga only reinforces their reputation as one of football’s shrewdest operators. The Seagulls have made a habit of buying low and selling high, with stars like Moises Caicedo and Alexis Mac Allister generating windfalls in recent years. Now, Baleba looks set to follow the same path – but on an even grander scale. Brighton know they hold all the cards, and unless United come up with the full £115m, the midfielder isn’t going anywhere.