On Saturday, Manchester United lost 2-0 at Hull City, away to a newly promoted side, on two set pieces.
This is not a minor detail. It is exactly the problem that Carlos Baleba is supposed to solve.
A £70 million transfer
The transfer is now finalised: £70 million in total, including £65 million guaranteed and £5 million in add-ons, with a sell-on percentage for Brighton and a five-year contract. A year ago, the Seagulls were demanding more than £100 million. The Cameroonian's difficult season did the rest.
A talented midfield lacking intensity
Michael Carrick inherited a midfield that is nonetheless not short of talent. Bruno Fernandes remains the club's best player. Andrey Santos arrived from Chelsea for £48 million, and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa for £35 million.
But none of these three players wins a duel out wide. None of them runs thirty metres to win back a second ball. At Hull, United endured their opponents' intensity for forty-five minutes without ever managing to break their rhythm.
What Baleba brings in concrete terms
Baleba does precisely what this team lacks. He covers ground, closes down the ball carrier and knows how to play out of a press rather than simply giving the ball away. With 92 Premier League appearances at just 22 years old, played in a Brighton side that presses high, he knows the league inside out.
A gamble that is not without risk
There is a risk, and it must be said. Baleba is coming off a season below his usual standards, weighed down by transfer speculation which he himself admitted was a difficult pressure to carry.
United are therefore buying a player in a dip, at a dip-form price.
If Carrick manages to revive him, it will be the deal of the summer.
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