New Man United Signing Carlos Baleba Steps Up Fitness in Friendly

First Outing for Baleba

Manchester United supporters have finally seen new signing Carlos Baleba on the pitch. The midfielder played his first minutes in a United shirt during a private friendly match on Friday.

The 22 year old midfielder moved to Old Trafford from Brighton in August. The transfer deal was worth £70 million, which is around $93 million. However, United fans have had to wait to see him play. Baleba has not featured in any competitive games for his new club yet. This is because of an ankle injury he suffered during preseason training when he was still with Brighton.

Nearing Full Fitness

The midfielder is now working hard to get back to full fitness. He was named on the substitutes bench for the 1-1 draw against Fulham just before the international break. Since then, he has stayed at the club's Carrington training complex to continue his recovery work.

To help him get match fit, United arranged a training match against Swiss side Lausanne Sport. Baleba got some valuable playing time during this match. He was joined on the pitch by several other first team players who also needed minutes. Senior defenders and attackers like Harry Maguire and Matheus Cunha played alongside him in the friendly.

Head coach Michael Carrick is pleased with the progress the midfielder is making. Carrick spoke to the club's official media recently about the player's recovery process. The manager said that Baleba was "pushing to get back as quickly as possible" from his ankle injury.