Manchester United transfer goal Carlos Baleba has confessed he put to much pressure on himself within the wake of speculation linking him with a £100million move to Old Trafford.
The Cameroon international was earmarked as certainly one of the leading candidates to form the idea of a new-look United engine room in the summertime.
United chiefs, nevertheless, baulked at Brighton’s asking price and opted as an alternative to maintain their powder dry and spend their resources on strengthening other areas of Ruben Amorim’s first team squad.
With Kobbie Mainoo out of favour, Amorim has relied heavily on a midfield pairing of Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro through the first half of the campaign with mixed results.
Baleba, meanwhile, remained at Brighton but has struggled to recapture the shape that marked him out as a possible £100m player but he denied any transfer talk played a component in his difficult begin to the season.
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Speaking aheadof his involvement on the upcoming AFCON, he said: ‘I don’t think it affected me. But I had a whole lot of pressure on me.
‘After I began the season, I desired to [have] the identical performances as last season. Day-after-day I attempt to work hard and to get [back] to my level.
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‘Did I put an excessive amount of pressure on myself? Yes, I believe so, but I believe that’s good.’
United remain excited about the 21-year-old, but he’s in no way the one player on their radar with Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton, Joao Gomes into consideration.
The longer term of Mainoo, meanwhile, stays a matter of conjecture and have become a significant talking point again on Monday when his half-brother wore an eye catching ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ t-shirt to United’s chaotic 4-4 draw with Bournemouth.
The 20-year-old’s lack of game time has been used as a follow beat Amorim, with the homegrown star still waiting to make his first Premier League start of the campaign.
Popular Mainoo received a hero’s welcome when introduced off the bench as a second-half substitute in Monday’s roller-coaster clash with Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
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But certainly one of the essential talking points afterwards was the midfielder’s half-brother Jordan Mainoo-Hames posting an Instagram story of himself in the bottom wearing a ‘Free Kobbie Mainoo’ top.
England international Mainoo saw a request to go away on loan rejected in August and speculation continues over a possible January switch.
United boss Ruben Amorim was not asked in regards to the t-shirt within the post-match press conference but spoke about Mainoo at length within the build-up to the Bournemouth game.
Asked if he would sanction a January loan move if the midfielder got here to see him, the manager said: ‘To start with, I say the identical thing: the team comes first.
‘If Kobbie involves me and talks to me, I’ll consult with him. I’m not going to say what I’m going to say to Kobbie, but I shall be really pleased if Kobbie is coming to consult with me about that.
‘I just want my players pleased, and I understand that each individual has their goals. The frustration doesn’t help anybody but, again, the main target is on this game and we’ll see if that happens.’
The Mainoo t-shirt was not the one United-related social media post of note after a pair of teenagers seemingly reacted to Amorim’s pre-match press conference.
The Portuguese said in a single answer that “(Harry) Amass is now struggling in Championship” and “Chido (Obi) isn’t all the time a starter in under 21”.
Amass is on loan at embattled Championship outfit Sheffield Wednesday and posted a photograph of himself holding the club’s player of the month award for November with a grinning emoji.
Obi also posted an Instagram story, which showed him with arms out celebrating a goal for the Under-21s against Manchester City in August.
The 18-year-olds subsequently deleted the posts.
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