Manchester United legend Dwight Yorke has expressed confusion over the club's decision to sign Carlos Baleba from Brighton, questioning the logic of prioritizing a third midfielder in a transfer window he describes as 'very weird'. The £65m move, which completed United's midfield rebuild this week, comes despite defensive vulnerabilities exposed in Saturday's season-opening defeat to Hull City.
United's midfield overhaul
United have invested close to £150 million in midfield this summer, bringing in Andrey Santos from Chelsea and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa before completing the revamp with Baleba's arrival. The spending spree follows the departure of Casemiro and a long-term knee injury to Manuel Ugarte, leaving the club with three new options in the center of the park.
Midfield has been United's top priority, mirroring their approach to the attack last summer. However, Yorke, a key member of the Treble-winning squad, believes the focus has been misplaced.
Defensive concerns remain
The 2-0 defeat to newly-promoted Hull City highlighted persistent issues at the back. United conceded twice from set pieces, with the defense looking off the pace despite Harry Maguire, Ayden Heaven, Leny Yoro, and Luke Shaw all completing full pre-season campaigns.
Yorke told Reviant: 'Carlos Baleba to Man Utd? It's been a very weird transfer window. Man Utd seem to be concentrating a lot on the central area of the park, where we already have plenty of players.'
'Don't forget Ugarte, who is injured. We know Casemiro did a pretty good job toward the end of last season, thanks to his experience, but I'm not sure why we are concentrating on that position so much.'
Unproven signing
The former striker also questioned Baleba's current form, suggesting the club may be signing him based on performances from a couple of seasons ago rather than recent displays. 'He showed good signs in the past, but from my understanding, we aren't signing him based on his recent form, but his form of a couple of seasons ago,' Yorke added.
'The defensive areas of the pitch are the ones that stand out, and we haven't been able to address those. So, we've added another young player who is still unproven in Carlos Baleba.'
'I'm a bit confused by it myself, but I do believe we are focusing way too much on that central area rather than other aspects of the team.'
