Carlos Baleba plays first minutes for Man Utd in closed-door Lausanne friendly

Carlos Baleba has played his first minutes in a Manchester United shirt. The midfielder featured in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne on Friday, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Baleba joined from Brighton in the summer. However, he has not yet made an appearance for Michael Carrick’s side because of an ankle injury picked up before the move. The club named him on the bench for the 1-1 draw at Fulham before the international break, but he did not play, according to the Manchester Evening News.

What happened in the Carlos Baleba friendly

United hosted the game at Carrington. Lausanne are a sister club of United. The MEN says United reportedly won 2-1, so the score comes from reports rather than a club statement.

Players who were not away with their countries took part. Harry Maguire and Matheus Cunha featured, along with several young players. Carrick’s son Jacey was one of them. Carlos Baleba, a Cameroon international, had been on a specific training programme for the past few weeks, the MEN says.

Why this matters before Spurs

Carlos Baleba is now in contention to feature against Tottenham when United return to Premier League action. That match is on Saturday 10 October. United have won one league game so far this season, according to Sports Mole.

Sports Mole also argues that United need more athleticism in midfield, and sees Carlos Baleba as part of the answer. That is its view, and Carrick has not said it. However, the same report notes that Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos have played in the middle so far.

For example, Carlos Baleba’s friendly minutes are a useful marker. They are not a promise of a start, because the club has not named a team or confirmed his fitness for the Spurs game.

Elsewhere in the squad, you can read about Patrick Dorgu’s return and the latest on Bruno Fernandes.

Image: aerial view of Old Trafford, July 2023, by Arne Müseler via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0 de), cropped. Archive stadium image.