Why Man Utd actually missed out on 'signing of the season' as Carlos Baleba alternative

Manchester United revamped their midfield this summer, including the signing of Carlos Baleba, but they missed out on an arguably better player.

Baleba joined Man United in a £70 million deal from Brighton & Hove Albion, becoming their fourth addition of the summer after Youri Tielemans, Andrey Santos and Karl Darlow.

Adding tenacity, athleticism and aggression to an engine room that was lacking legs, United fans are excited to see the 22-year-old in action, but they will need to wait a couple of weeks.

Michael Carrick confirmed that the Cameroon international is recovering from an ankle issue and could make his debut in the Manchester Derby on September 13.

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Why Man United didn't sign Mamadou Sangare before Brentford swooped in

When fully fit, Baleba is arguably one of the Premier League's best defensive midfielders, earning a reputation at Brighton for shielding their defence with his incredible ball-winning attributes.

He ranked in the top 13 per cent of the division's midfielders for interceptions per 90 last term, according to FotMob, while placing in the top 16 per cent for recoveries.

United are hopeful he can translate such defensive output across to Old Trafford and improve their ability to control games in the middle of the park.

However, it has emerged that INEOS could have captured someone even better than Baleba after missing out on Brentford's Mamadou Sangare.

ESPN have revealed that Sangare was a midfielder the club 'monitored closely' after his standout campaign with Lens in Ligue 1, but United have notoriously struggled with a recent trend of agents preferring to move clients into the Premier League at a mid-level club.

That was why the Malian's agent, 12 MANagement, sanctioned his £38.5million transfer to Brentford, where he was guaranteed regular first-team minutes, instead of battling for a place in Carrick's midfield.

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Mamadou Sangare is looking like the 'signing of the season'

After beating several clubs to his signature, Brentford's decision to shell out a club-record fee to land the 24-year-old is already being vindicated.

Sangare has been a standout performer in Keith Andrews engine room, grabbing an assist in the Bees' 3-0 demolition of Tottenham, while following that up with another quality performance against Leeds United.

Combining elite-level athleticism with monstrous ball-carrying and quality attacking output, Sangare has become an instant hit in the Premier League after averaging the most defensive contributions of any player (14.2) in Ligue 1 last season.

In fact, the Malian has already translated that defensive output to England's top-flight, ranking in the top 10 per cent for defensive contributions per 90 and the top seven per cent for interceptions, evincing his remarkable ball-winning talents.

It's hardly surprising then that Sky Sports have argued that he could be the 'signing of the season' and why Man United were so keen to snap him up from Lens before being snubbed by his agent.

The Athletic has also ranked him as the third-best Premier League transfer this summer, behind only Emi Martinez and Bruno Guimaraes, who joined Chelsea and Arsenal, respectively.

Should Sangare keep performing at a consistently high level, he could find his way to a big six club, with his value potentially doubling - or even tripling - in the next two years.