Carlos Baleba speaking out on Manchester United transfer speculation

Manchester United transfer target Carlos Baleba has confessed he put to much pressure on himself in the wake of speculation linking him with a £100million move to Old Trafford.

The Cameroon international was earmarked as one of the leading candidates to form the basis of a new-look United engine room in the summer.

United chiefs, however, baulked at Brighton’s asking price and opted instead to keep their powder dry and spend their resources on strengthening other areas of Ruben Amorim’s first team squad.

With Kobbie Mainoo out of favour, Amorim has relied heavily on a midfield pairing of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro during the first half of the campaign with mixed results.

Baleba, meanwhile, remained at Brighton but has struggled to recapture the form that marked him out as a potential £100m player but he denied any transfer talk played a part in his difficult start to the season.

Speaking aheadof his involvement at the upcoming AFCON, he said: ‘I don’t think it affected me. But I had a lot of pressure on me.

‘When I started the season, I wanted to [have] the same performances as last season. Every day I try to work hard and to get [back] to my level.

‘Did I put too much pressure on myself? Yes, I think so, but I think that’s good.’

United remain interested in the 21-year-old, but he is by no means the only player on their radar with Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Joao Gomes under consideration.

The future of Mainoo, meanwhile, remains a matter of conjecture and became a major talking point again on Monday when his half-brother wore an eye-catching ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ t-shirt to United’s chaotic 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.

The 20-year-old’s lack of game time has been used as a stick to beat Amorim, with the homegrown star still waiting to make his first Premier League start of the campaign.

Popular Mainoo received a hero’s welcome when introduced off the bench as a second-half substitute in Monday’s roller-coaster clash with Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

But one of the main talking points afterwards was the midfielder’s half-brother Jordan Mainoo-Hames posting an Instagram story of himself in the ground wearing a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ top.

England international Mainoo saw a request to leave on loan rejected in August and speculation continues over a potential January switch.

United boss Ruben Amorim was not asked about the t-shirt in the post-match press conference but spoke about Mainoo at length in the build-up to the Bournemouth game.

Asked if he would sanction a January loan move if the midfielder came to see him, the manager said: ‘First of all, I say the same thing: the team comes first.

‘If Kobbie comes to me and talks to me, I will talk to him. I’m not going to say what I’m going to say to Kobbie, but I will be really pleased if Kobbie is coming to talk to me about that.

‘I just want my players happy, and I understand that every individual has their goals. The frustration doesn’t help anybody but, again, the focus is in this game and we will see if that happens.’

The Mainoo t-shirt was not the only United-related social media post of note after a pair of teenagers seemingly reacted to Amorim’s pre-match press conference.

The Portuguese said in one answer that “(Harry) Amass is now struggling in Championship” and “Chido (Obi) is not always a starter in under 21”.

Amass is on loan at embattled Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday and posted a photo of himself holding the club’s player of the month award for November with a grinning emoji.

Obi also posted an Instagram story, which showed him with arms out celebrating a goal for the Under-21s against Manchester City in August.

The 18-year-olds subsequently deleted the posts.