Manchester United Seal £70m Deal for Carlos Baleba

Manchester United have pushed their summer rebuild up a gear, sealing a deal worth up to £70m (€81m) for Brighton midfielder Carlos Baleba.

The Cameroon international becomes the third midfielder through the door at Old Trafford in this window, joining Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans in a reshaped engine room. United have paid big and backed youth again, banking on Baleba’s power and potential to transform their midfield options.

While United were making headlines off the pitch, attention on the continent turned to a busy night of European and La Liga action.

Celtic cruising, Scales on the bench

Celtic step into their Champions League qualifier second leg against LASK with one foot already in the next round, carrying a 3-0 advantage from the first leg. Liam Scales has to be patient; he starts on the bench as Celtic look to finish the job with minimal drama.

Parrott waits as Betis build the hype

In Spain, the spotlight falls on Troy Parrott and a possible La Liga debut that has stirred plenty of Irish interest.

Parrott, fresh from his move to Real Betis from AZ Alkmaar last week, is in line to feature at the Mestalla as Betis face Valencia at 8pm. The Ireland striker, who hit a hat-trick in Budapest earlier this year, has traded the grind of English football for a new life in Spain – a decision that has already reshaped his career.

Betis are not hiding their excitement. The club’s social media team has spent the buildup stoking the buzz with two posts in quick succession: one showcasing his pristine No 19 shirt, another capturing a young fan holding a flag emblazoned with the message, “what’s the craic Troy?”

For now, though, Parrott must wait. He does not start.

Real Betis line up as follows:

• Valles
• Ortiz
• Gomez
• Llorente
• Firpo
• Fornals
• Bernal
• Deossa
• Antony
• Hernandez
• Riquelme

Cucho Hernández keeps his place at centre-forward after an 11-goal La Liga campaign last season. That is the role Parrott will have to rip away if he wants to become a regular starter, with Antony nailed down on one flank and Rodrigo Riquelme on the other.

Pellegrini’s verdict: “Ready to play”

Manuel Pellegrini has been cautious but positive about his new striker.

“Troy has not been working with us for a long time,” the Betis manager said. “He joined us only a day before the last game. But he has been working hard and he is on the list because he is ready to play.”

The expectation is clear: Parrott will likely be unleashed from the bench, asked to make an impact in a tight window rather than carry the full load from kick-off. For a player who chose to step away from England to find himself, it is another stage, another test.

Gavin Cooney’s profile of the Dubliner captured that shift in mindset. Forsaking English football, Cooney wrote, has been the making of Parrott. The move to the Eredivisie gave him space, a style of play that suited his touch and movement, and crucially, distance from the noise.

“Trying to live up to the hype at such a young age, it was never going to happen that early because football isn’t so easy,” Parrott said in 2024. “For me it was more about growing up a bit and trying to block out the noise.”

Now the noise is back, only louder, and in a different language.

Betis, Champions League participants this season and already off to a winning start thanks to a Riquelme goal against Real Sociedad, offer him a platform far removed from the Championship grind he once faced at West Ham. The competition is fierce, the expectations higher, the margin for error smaller.

The question is simple and sharp: in a side this ambitious, how long will it take Troy Parrott to turn the hype into something permanent on the teamsheet?