Brighton star Carlos Baleva has quickly deleted a cheeky social media post that fueled speculation linking him with a move to Manchester United.
Valeva has emerged as one of the best young midfielders in recent years and attracted strong interest from Manchester United in the summer.
The Red Devils made a bold move by signing Baleva in an effort to sign a high-quality No. 6 player, but they were unable to put a price tag on a move for the Brighton star, who is valued at £100m.
It was widely reported that Baleva was in favor of a move to Old Trafford, but Man United decided not to sign a replacement, leaving the door open for a future move.
Baleva has been heavily linked with Manchester United in recent months, which has affected his form at Brighton.
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Bareva had a slow start to the season due to a knee injury, but has been showing signs of improvement in recent games.
The central midfielder produced his best performance of the season so far after having a “personal meeting” with head coach Fabian Hürzeler during Brighton’s 2-1 win over Newcastle last weekend.
Baleva is likely to start for Brighton against Man United at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, but risks embarrassing Hürzeler and his supporters by posting light-hearted messages on social media.
He uploaded an image previewing Saturday’s game and captioned it: “Coming to Old Trafford (laughing emoji)”.
Baleba quickly deleted the post and then played it safe by re-uploading the image without a caption.
Ahead of the game, Hürzeler explained why he believes Valeva’s form has changed following a disappointing start to the season.
“I saw Carlos Baleva step up,” Hürzeler said in an interview with Sky Sports.
“These were good behaviors that he showed, good behaviors. But he has to make habits out of those good behaviors because that’s the next step in his development and bringing consistency to his performance.”
“For me, it is always important to be transparent with the players. I have a very good relationship with Carlos. We speak regularly and keep in touch. I always share my thoughts on his development and my thoughts on his performances.”
“It’s important to be clear about what you expect from your players, both on and off the pitch. And it’s important to build relationships where you can criticize and give personal feedback, where players may be unhappy but understand the intentions behind it.”
“Carlos doesn’t get better just by receiving praise and applause from the outside. I think he gets better not only in a safe environment, but also in honest feedback that shows him where he needs to improve. That’s what we’re trying to support him with and push him to get better.”
