Carloa Baleba has been making swift progress in his recovery over the international break, putting him in contention to make his first start next weekend.
According to The Athletic, the youngster has been put through his paces at Carrington while ‘following an individual programme designed to get him up to full fitness’.
Carlos Baleba: The state of play
Baleba did make the bench for the first time for Manchester United’s clash with Fulham a fortnight ago, but he was an unused substitute at Craven Cottage.
As a result, his maiden appearance is now poised to come at Old Trafford when the Reds host Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, October 10.
It means one of either Kobbie Mainoo or Youri Tielemans will have to drop out of the starting XI, and based on how the former has fared since the campaign began, the Belgian international is more likely to be sacrificed.
Kobbie Mainoo amongst Premier League midfielders this season:
🔝 Most x possession won (40)
🔝 Most attempted take-ons (13)
🔝 Most successful take-ons (10)Man Utd’s Player of the Month. 👏 pic.twitter.com/ABb7zfDP8y
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) September 28, 2026
At the beginning of September, Manchester Evening News journalist Tyrone Marshall said: “I would expect Baleba and Mainoo to be the partnership that starts the biggest games and to emerge as United’s No. 1 midfield duo.”
Will Tielemans fall in the pecking order behind Baleba?
Tielemans has averaged a Fotmob rating of 7.29 across the opening five gameweeks, having started each outing.
Mainoo, on the other hand, was only left out of the line-up on the opening day due to the fact he’d had a shorter pre-season following England’s late return from the World Cup.
Baleba being available for selection now also makes fellow summer signing Andrey Santos’ situation more difficult, as he is struggling to nail down a prominent role after his £50 million switch from Chelsea.
Carrick on Baleba: 'We’re delighted to have Carlos, huge potential, massive potential, he’s a really exciting signing for us. The quality that he has, the attributes that he has offset the balance of the group that we’ve got, different strengths, different combinations.' #mufc
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) August 28, 2026
The only reason he was keen on making the move in the first place was because he ranked behind Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo in the pecking order, but he has accumulated only 83 minutes of action in the Premier League for United thus far.
Santos, 22, has started only once and was an unused substitute for the last two games.
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