📅 October 3, 2026
Carlos Baleba Has Finally Played for Manchester United
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Carlos Baleba has played for Manchester United. Not at Old Trafford, and not with anyone watching: a behind-closed-doors friendly against Lausanne-Sport at Carrington on Friday. But the club’s own site confirmed it, with pictures, and that’s the first time the ÂŁ65 million midfielder has been on a pitch in a United shirt since he signed at the end of August.
Spurs at Old Trafford is a week away. He’s now a real option for it.
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What the club said
The club’s report is short. Baleba “took part in a fixture against Swiss side Lausanne-Sport, held at Carrington,” and the piece reminds readers that Carrick had recently described him as “pushing to get back as quickly as possible” from the injury he arrived with. No score, no minutes played, no line-ups.
The gallery fills in some of who else was there. Harry Maguire and Matheus Cunha played, which makes sense: neither was called up this window. The rest of the pictures are academy names, among them Diego Leon, Amir Ibragimov, Victor Musa, Yuel Helafu, Enzo Kana-Biyik and Jacey Carrick, the head coach’s son.
Two familiar faces came the other way. Sekou Kone, on loan at Lausanne, and Tyler Fredricson, the academy graduate who joined them permanently in the summer, were both back at Carrington for the day.
United in Focus reports that United won 2-1. That’s one outlet’s understanding, not a club statement, so treat the score as unconfirmed.
Why this one matters
Because of how long it’s taken. Baleba hurt his ankle in Brighton’s pre-season, before the transfer, and United signed him anyway on the strength of a medical that said it wasn’t long-term. We set out that timeline before the Fulham game, when Carrick said there was “a chance” he’d be involved. He made the bench at Craven Cottage and didn’t get on.
Then the break. Cameroon didn’t pick him, because he hadn’t played a minute, so he stayed at Carrington while most of the squad went away. Friday was the point of all that: a game with no stakes, against a club that happens to share an owner with United, to find out whether the ankle holds up at match pace.
Nobody has reported a problem afterwards.
What it means for Tottenham
United play Spurs at Old Trafford on Saturday 10 October. Baleba came through a friendly eight days before it. That doesn’t make him a starter, and it doesn’t even guarantee he’s in the squad, but the question has changed from “is he fit?” to “does Carrick pick him?”
The case for doing it is the same as it was in August. United’s problem in the middle of the pitch this season has been protection: Tielemans and Mainoo have been asked to hold the centre behind an attacking four, and the goals conceded have come through it. Baleba was bought to do the running and the tackling in front of the back four. If he’s fit, that’s the job he gets.
The case against is fitness. No competitive football since last season, one closed-doors friendly, and a Premier League match next. Carrick has been careful with Sesko and with Shaw this season. He may be careful here too and give him twenty minutes off the bench.
Either way, this is the first week since the window shut where a Baleba debut is a selection decision rather than a medical one.
The video side
If you’d rather watch than read, the TikTok account covers the same stories in a minute or less. It’s called “Man United, for Americans”, and it’s where the line-up graphics, the match clocks and the arguments go. Follow it and the next one lands on your For You page.
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Sources: Manchester United’s club report “Baleba gets first taste of United action” (manutd.com, 2 October 2026, published 17:00 UTC), including the quoted lines, the gallery and the Kone and Fredricson detail; the photo captions date the match to 2 October at Carrington Training Ground. United in Focus (2 October 2026) for the 2-1 score, which the club has not confirmed, and for Lausanne’s INEOS ownership. RotoWire (2 October 2026) and Stretty News (2 October 2026) also reported the friendly. The injury history, the ÂŁ65 million fee, the Fulham bench and Cameroon’s squad are from our reporting of 19 September 2026, linked above. The ESPN report on the friendly refuses automated fetches and so is not linked. No minutes played, score or line-up has been published by the club, and none is stated here as fact.