CONFIRMED: Decision made on Man Utd’s top Baleba alternative

Sporting CP have reiterated that Morten Hjulmand is not for sale amid Manchester United‘s ongoing search for an alternative to Brighton star Carlos Baleba.

Having successfully strengthened their frontline, Man Utd are now prioritising the signing of a new midfielder. However, their pursuit of Cameroon international Baleba has ended in defeat.

He is Ruben Amorim’s dream reinforcement for the engine room, but Brighton have emphatically made it clear that he is not for sale this summer. After a week of talks with his camp, and following a discussion with the Seagulls, Man Utd decided to end their pursuit of Baleba earlier on Friday.

The 21-year-old remains a target for the future, but a Plan B now has to be put in place for the current window. There are alternative targets, and it is no secret that Amorim is a huge admirer of his former Sporting CP protégé Morten Hjulmand.

The Man Utd boss previously described the Dane as being a more complete player than Manuel Ugarte and Joao Palhinha, his predecessors at Sporting, and there has been latent interest in him all window.

Hjulmand not for sale this summer

The Transfers Podcast revealed on 1 August that Sporting will not sell Hjulmand this summer unless the value of his €80 million release clause is met. The 26-year-old would be keen on a move to the Premier League, but Man Utd are unlikely to stump up that fee.

Portuguese outlet A Bola has now confirmed that this would be an eminently difficult deal to do, with the Lisbon club unwilling to part with any more star players after losing Viktor Gyokeres.

Mais Futbol also states that Sporting have ‘shut the door’ on Hjulmand’s exit. In fact, both reports claim that Hjulmand’s release clause expired on 15 June and will only come into effect again next summer, so there is no mechanism by which to get him out of Portugal this year.

The Red Devils will therefore have to explore different targets or stick with their current options. Amorim wants more dynamism, but he insisted earlier on Friday that he is ‘really happy’ with the current players at his disposal. “We are prepared to win any game with our players,” he added.

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