September 30 (CEST), The Athletic reported that Baleba has been training at Carrington and following a customized individual program to gradually regain full fitness.

Last week, while Manchester United players took a brief rest during team training, this midfielder continued individual training at the club's training ground alongside several other players who did not participate in international matches. He is currently recovering from an ankle injury that delayed his debut following his transfer from Brighton in August.

The 22-year-old Baleba's recovery has actually exceeded expectations, allowing him to be included in the squad for the 1-1 away draw against Fulham, the final match before players departed for international fixtures. His professional attitude has impressed the staff.

This midfielder has yet to play a single minute this season, leading his Cameroon national team to deem him unsuitable for their current Africa Cup of Nations qualifier squad. However, he could feature in Manchester United's youth team match against FC Lausanne-Sport later this week.

While the ankle injury was not serious, Manchester United has yet to field the key player they agreed to sign from Brighton for up to £70 million (approximately $93 million) in the summer transfer market.

The signings of André Santos and Youri Tielemans were also aimed at strengthening this area, and both have already had playing opportunities. However, Manchester United's poor start to the season (just one win in their first five Premier League matches) has cast doubt on the club's recruitment efforts.

However, how much they have truly improved the midfield will only become clear once Baleba takes to the pitch.

There is widespread expectation that when Manchester United players return from international duty and prepare for their October 10 match against Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, Baleba will finally have the opportunity to fight for a starting position in that fixture.

While signing a defensive midfielder will not immediately solve all of Manchester United's problems, Baleba was arguably the club's most notable and potentially most important summer signing. It is clear that Manchester United lacked a defensive midfielder, and he was brought in to fill the void left by the departed Casemiro.

With Baleba unavailable, manager Michael Carrick opted for a midfield pairing of Tielemans and Kobbie Mainoo over Santos. As a result, in the four Premier League matches where both players started together, Manchester United lacked a true defensive midfielder.

While the aging Casemiro is no longer the dominant defensive midfielder he was at Real Madrid, he remained a crucial player for Carrick's team in helping them climb the league standings last season. Last season, Manchester United won only once in a match where the Brazilian international did not start—in their final match of the season away at Brighton.

Across all competitions in matches where he did not start, the team's record was 1 win, 1 draw, and 5 losses across seven games, while in matches where he started, they recorded 19 wins, 10 draws, and 4 losses. Since Casemiro's departure, the team's record across all competitions stands at 2 wins, 2 draws, and 3 losses.

Now that the Brazilian is 34 years old and Manchester United have returned to European competition this season, his wages would have increased to £350,000 per week. Therefore, Manchester United's decision not to trigger the 12-month contract extension clause likely was the right call.

Removing his salary from the books also facilitated the squad overhaul this summer. However, comprehensively restructuring the team's core is not easy, and whether their approach has been adequate remains unclear at this point.

With Tielemans and Mainoo operating as the double pivot, Manchester United's midfield defensive gap has become easier to exploit, and these vulnerabilities were particularly evident in the draw against Fulham.

While their penalty box defense remains solid (they allow the fewest touches inside the box), because Tielemans and Mainoo are not adept at covering wide areas without the ball, it has become easier to breach Manchester United's midfield line. Fulham's Alex Iwobi occasionally penetrated easily down the flank and attacked the space behind Tielemans and Mainoo. Could Casemiro have prevented this? Covering such a wide area of responsibility at his age would have been difficult, so he certainly could not have stopped it every time, but he would have positioned himself deeper and narrowed the gap between defense and midfield.

Was allowing such space to Tielemans and Mainoo a tactical instruction? It's hard to say, but deploying a midfield system often requires an effective defensive midfielder.

Santos started in Manchester United's Premier League opener against Hull City and in the League Cup match against Brighton, but both ended in defeat. The 22-year-old Brazilian performed adequately in both matches, but the results certainly did not bolster his early Manchester United reputation.

Now all eyes are on what Baleba can bring.

This Cameroon international is aggressive without the ball and possesses both athleticism and determination. His impressive performances for Brighton in the 2024-25 season, including his statistics and playing style, prompted Manchester United to approach the south coast club about a summer transfer.

He recorded 46 successful tackles and 46 interceptions in the Premier League, ranking him fifth among Premier League midfielders in interceptions. Additionally, Baleba won 199 aerial duels in the top flight, placing him eighth among Premier League midfielders in this metric.

When Casemiro was at his peak last season, he won 188 aerial duels, ranking seventh among league midfielders. On this metric, the second-highest at Manchester United was Bruno Fernandes with 124, placing him only 35th. This season, Mainoo leads Manchester United with 23 aerial duel wins, but the league leader is Leeds United's Auston Stuart with 36, while Manchester City's Elliott Anderson closely follows with 34.

Baleba demonstrated excellent ability by playing 2,671 minutes in the 2024-25 season. However, the following season saw his playing time significantly reduced to 1,662 minutes due to inconsistent form and minor injuries, and Manchester United's interest may also have affected his mindset. While this caused his defensive statistics to decline, internally Manchester United believes his previous season's performances were only a minor fluctuation.

Manchester United believes Baleba's interception ability and aerial duel success rate are key to disrupting opposing attacks, and these qualities could also prevent opposing midfielders from supplying the ball to attackers when the team employs a midfield defensive formation.

Of course, he must do more than just protect his teammates on the pitch.

In the 2024-25 season, he completed 6.7 progressive dribbles per 90 minutes, of which 2.9 covered more than 10 meters, ranking him fourth in the league. Manchester United has often struggled to move the ball forward quickly after regaining possession this season.

While Baleba's passing style may be conservative, given that he will likely partner with Mainoo or Tielemans, the responsibility for breaking down defenses will fall to one of them. Baleba's strength lies in his ability to quickly switch play from a deep position, which will help Manchester United dismantle the low blocks that have troubled them this season.

He may not match Casemiro's threat from set pieces. Manchester United have yet to score from free kicks or corners this season and have shown vulnerabilities in set-piece defense. The Brazilian's contributions at both ends of the pitch remain irreplaceable.

When Baleba first joined the club this summer, it was reasonable that he maintained humility through continuous strength and conditioning work via individual training sessions. He played alongside Leny Yoro at Lille, and they are close friends like national teammates with Aurélien Tchouaméni. He has also grown closer to Amorim recently while undergoing rehabilitation training with him.

As Baleba has increasingly integrated with his teammates, his personality has emerged, and now everyone at Manchester United's training ground believes he is lively, positive, and exerts a good influence on the entire squad.

The club now hopes he can have a positive impact on the pitch as soon as possible. While it may be unrealistic to expect him alone to transform the team's fortunes this season, starting in the Tottenham match would provide a significant morale boost for the team.

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