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Forget Baleba: Man Utd have already signed "the next Casemiro" this month

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Published Aug 30, 2026, 6:10 AM GMT+1

Tom is a football journalist with over five years of experience, specialising in Premier League reporting, feature writing and transfer analysis, with particular expertise covering Liverpool and Everton.

His work has been featured in The Non-League Paper, Crawley Observer, Sussex Express and The Redmen TV, where he produced features, news and exclusive interviews across all levels of the game.

For Football FanCast, Tom has interviewed a number of respected figures from across football, including Ally McCoist, Philippe Senderos and Chris Waddle. Elsewhere, he has covered the National League South play-off final, Formula E's London E-Prix, Crawley Town and Brighton & Hove Albion's Under-21s.

Tom's expertise lies in analysing transfer developments, explaining what they mean for clubs and supporters, and producing in-depth features on the biggest stories in football. Through years of covering Liverpool and Everton, he has developed an extensive understanding of Merseyside football, both clubs' recruitment strategies and the issues that matter most to their supporters. He has also built strong relationships across the football industry that add valuable context to his reporting and analysis.

Tom also enjoys writing features on the broader challenges facing football, its clubs, players, governing bodies and, most importantly, supporters.

It may have taken 12 months, but Carlos Baleba is finally a Manchester United player. The Red Devils splashed out to land the £70m midfielder and complete their rebuild in the middle of the park.

The departure of Casemiro always meant that midfield reinforcements were likely and Michael Carrick now has three to turn to.

It may not have been the dream debuts that Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos had in mind at Hull City a week ago as they were mauled by the Tigers, but that's why the addition of Baleba is so important.

The former Brighton man completes the set, adding what the other two are lacking. In a modern-day Premier League which is beginning to centre around physicality, a powerhouse No.6 is crucial for just about any side.

How Carlos Baleba will complete Man United's midfield

Just before picking up his PFA Player of the Year award, it was interesting to see how Bruno Fernandes summarised Baleba's arrival.

The Man United captain told reporters: "He’s a very energetic player. Strong physically, he can push us up the pitch driving the ball. Young and exciting, the club have been following him for two years."

In many ways, Fernandes summed it up perfectly. Baleba adds the energy that Tielemans lacks and the physicality that the midfield has been missing for quite some time. At just 22 years old, he's only set to get better and better, too.

To platform talents like Tielemans, who are ball-retention specialists, players like Baleba are always needed. The Belgian had Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana at Aston Villa. Now, he has the former Brighton man.

Premier League stats 25/26

Stat

Tielemans

Kamara

Baleba

Minutes	1,862	1,418	1,662
Duel success	60.3%	56.9%	50%
Line-breaking passes per 90	9.28	7.87	3.84
Tackles per 90	2.8	3.35	2
Recoveries per 90	4.54	4.13	5.69
Sprints per 90	2.47	3.49	15.11

The numbers certainly make for interesting reading. If Tielemans thrived next to Kamara then he will reach a whole new level next to Baleba.

The new midfielder completely makes up for the Belgian's weakness when recovering possession - making 15 sprints per 90 last season.

Brighton & Hove Albion's Carlos Baleba in action with Manchester City's Omar Marmoush

Quite simply, Baleba is the ball-winning monster that Carrick so desperately lacked on the opening day of the season. What he is not, however, is the Casemiro replacement.

Instead, that could be another player that Man United signed this month.

Man Utd may already have the 'next Casemiro' at Old Trafford

Of course, it's not just senior players that Man United have invested in this summer. They've also splashed out to welcome a future star in the form of Cristian Orozco.

The 18-year-old officially arrived earlier this month and is the future of the Red Devils' midfield. Having captained Colombia's youth side and featured at the U17 World Cup, the teenage star certainly left an impression on scouts.

According to some scouts, they have already proclaimed that Orozco is 'the next Casemiro' whilst also comparing him to Chelsea's Moises Caicedo. Praise doesn't get much better than that.

Those at Old Trafford have been told to 'remember the name' of their new, physically-imposing midfield signing who, at just 18, will be part of the first-team set-up sooner or later.

It's easy to see where the Caicedo and Casemiro comparisons come from, too. Orozco excelled in at Colombian side Fortaleza last season. In 128 minutes of action, he averaged a duel success of 60% and won 4.92 tackles per game - more than Baleba managed last time out.

All signs are pointing towards an impressive coup from the Red Devils, who splashed out around £750,000 to make a deal happen for a player who will get better and better at Carrington.

In an ideal world, Orozco will go on and live up to the praise that he's already received, becoming the perfect Casemiro replacement in the process. Whether first-team opportunities arrive as early as this season remains to be seen, though.

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