Brighton Urged to Target Mason Mount in Baleba Deal

Warren Aspinall has urged Brighton to think big if Manchester United return for Carlos Baleba – by asking for Mason Mount in part-exchange.

The former Albion midfielder believes the Seagulls should be ready to test United’s resolve should the Old Trafford club revive their long-standing interest in Baleba, who was heavily linked with a move there in the summer of 2025.

That transfer never happened. Baleba stayed on the south coast and, in Fabian Hurzeler’s first season, never quite rediscovered the surging form that initially put him on United’s radar.

Mount, meanwhile, has endured his own stalled chapter in Manchester. Since his 2023 move from Chelsea, injuries and inconsistent form have kept him from becoming the central figure many expected.

So, in Aspinall’s eyes, there is a clear opportunity.

“I was thinking – if Baleba did go to Manchester United then I'd see if I could get Mason Mount as part of the deal,” he told the Albion Unlimited podcast.

From there, he laid out the logic. United’s midfield has just been reshaped again. Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos have arrived, adding to the rise of Kobbie Mainoo, who looks set to be a fixture in Erik ten Hag’s starting XI.

“He's not going to be in the side because they've just signed two midfield players in Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos,” Aspinall said. “Those two and Kobbie Mainoo will be starters, so where does that leave Mount? They have good players coming through in the likes of Tyler Fletcher.”

It is a stark picture for Mount: a high-profile signing suddenly squeezed by new arrivals and a homegrown star. For Brighton, it is the kind of situation they have exploited smartly in recent years, picking off underused talent from bigger clubs and turning them into key pieces at the Amex.

For now, though, United are the only club with concrete links to Baleba. They have already moved decisively for two midfielders in a week, and that alone raises the possibility that the 20-year-old stays put. If he does, Aspinall is clear where the responsibility lies.

“For Baleba, the manager has to sit him down in a one-to-one situation and say, ‘look, just get your head down, do what you did not last season but the season before, and they will all come for you then’,” he said.

Aspinall’s assessment of the midfielder is glowing. When Baleba is right, he transforms Brighton’s engine room.

“They would all be after him because he's excellent. He's strong, powerful, breaks the lines very well. It was easy for him in certain games.”

The suggestion is that the speculation itself may have played a part in his dip. Once a player gets “a sniff from a club like Manchester United”, as Aspinall put it, the mind can drift. The big move. The big payday. Then nothing materialises and a season slips by.

“Sometimes you get a sniff from a club like Manchester United and you start to think about that big move and big payday but it has not happened. You have to get your head down, go again, and see where it takes him.”

So the message is blunt. If Baleba stays, the excuses stop.

“If he does stay he needs to knuckle down and he can have a great season at Brighton,” Aspinall said. “If he plays well, Brighton play well because he wins that midfield battle. If he is at the top of his game he makes his team-mates believe.”

Whether Brighton end up fronting a bold move for Mount or simply rebuilding Baleba, the equation is the same: get the midfield right, and Hurzeler’s second season could look very different from his first.