Michael Carrick does not go for grand statements in his media engagements. But he got his point across when he sat down with journalists in County Kildare, Ireland last Thursday. “We always want to improve,” he said. “We need more; we keep looking for how we can do that, so that never stops. We’ve got to keep pushing.”Whether that was a message to the fans getting agitated at a pause on signings or the board who were considering their next move, only Carrick knows. Perhaps it was simply an honest answer to an obvious question. Either way, a week on and his words have been heeded. United are closing in on a signing that looks set to lift their summer business to a status of satisfaction.Carlos Baleba offers United a different profile to Youri Tielemans and Andrey Santos, a combination of energy, defensive grit, and ball-carrying that should suit Carrick’s midfield well. United explored the terms of a transfer last summer but declined to bid when it became obvious Brighton & Hove Albion saw the fee as in excess of £100million ($136.3m). Baleba had a tough season after two excellent ones, with transfer interest and injuries both factors in that dip, but United kept tracking him, even at the African Cup of Nations, where he impressed for Cameroon.In April, The Athletic reported that a move by United for Baleba was highly plausible, with expectations that the fee would be much lower. Although it has taken time, with other options pursued first, that bank of information on the 22-year-old has now prompted a fresh approach.The path was not linear, though. As recently as last weekend, United studied the conditions of signing Myles Lewis-Skelly. The Arsenal player had been offered to United by intermediaries, and interest was there. Lewis-Skelly did not start much under Mikel Arteta last season, suggesting a potential availability, even though he was excellent in Arsenal’s final two games of the Champions League. But in recent days it became clear Lewis-Skelly, 19, would not leave his boyhood club this summer, and so all attention at United became focused on Baleba. Talks with Brighton centred on a fee worth around £65m.Carlos Baleba is due to join United from Brighton (Warren Little/Getty Images)Mason Mount’s fitness has also been a consideration. Mount starred in pre-season against Wrexham, Rosenborg, and Atletico Madrid, prompting internal debate at United about the next position to target. Mount, given his technical ability, was seen as a player who could feature regularly in one of the deeper midfield roles, encouraging people at the club to consider left-back as the more urgent area to address, with money being managed. Luke Shaw was excellent in starting every Premier League game last term, but with more matches this season and Shaw now 31, signing a successor will need to happen at some point soon.Mount coming off after 19 minutes of the Paris Saint-Germain friendly on August 8 prompted another evaluation, however. Scans revealed a minor hamstring injury. That in itself would not be enough to refocus on midfield, but it was a reminder of the issues around Mount’s availability since he joined from Chelsea in 2023.Despite Mount’s best efforts — and every manager has the same view of his dedication — he has only featured in 72 matches, with his longest streak being eight in a row last season.Mason Mount’s fitness remains a concern (Michael Campanella/Getty Images)So United looked at players who could operate in midfield and left-back. Lewis-Skelly is a clear example, although he prefers midfield, while Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga was also mentioned. Baleba has not played at left-back for Brighton, but his left-footedness makes that a possibility at United should the need arise. He twice played for Brighton at centre-back.Still, United are looking at specialist left-backs, albeit at this stage it appears likelier the cost will be at the lower end, meaning a proper approach for Newcastle’s Lewis Hall has slowed down. United are also weighing up strikers if Joshua Zirkzee goes.At that end of the pitch, Benjamin Sesko is getting closer to a return to playing matches. After sustaining a shin injury at the end of last season, he was out for longer than anticipated, so he needed more time to recover. Fulfilling a plan from the club doctors, he was at Carrington nearly every day during the summer, working his body to prepare for a return, and he was back with his team-mates last week for a couple of sessions.He stepped up his involvement during training this week, and could be involved for the Hull game. Sesko looks to have added muscle, but he is expected to trim down once the cardio of matches kicks in.In the squad for Hull will be Marcus Rashford, who made his first United appearance in 20 months by coming off the bench to face AC Milan in Wroclaw, Poland, last Saturday. Rashford wore the No 9, a signifier of his regained status at the club. Sesko might have been viewed as the natural successor for that number, with Rasmus Hojlund’s permanent move to Napoli confirmed, and this was discussed, but the 23-year-old Slovenian preferred to keep his No 30, which he wore at RB Leipzig and Red Bull Salzburg.People close to the situation say Rashford is certain to stay past deadline day.Once Sesko returns, Carrick will have a selection of options in attack. Sesko (11), Bryan Mbeumo (11) and Matheus Cunha (10) all hit double digits for Premier League goals in their first campaign with United — without taking penalties. It was the first time that has happened at the club in five years, since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was manager of Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, and Edinson Cavani. Still, United might supplement that area of the team if Zirkzee departs.In defence, Carrick has selection dilemmas, too.Ayden Heaven had a very good pre-season, starting all six matches, the only player alongside Santos to do so. Santos played the most minutes on 358, with Heaven just behind on 347, the highest of any defender. Luke Shaw played 346 minutes after coming off the bench against Leeds, while Harry Maguire hit 343 minutes after missing the game in Dublin entirely.Lisandro Martinez’s involvement in the World Cup final means he is still working his way back to match sharpness after his break, and Carrick did prefer the Argentine, who has experience and passing range, at the end of last season.That dynamic between the left-sided centre-backs will be one of the themes of the season with Heaven, 19, so far acquitting himself well in the Premier League. He had the third-highest ground duel success rate (71.1 per cent) of all players last season, behind Ezri Konsa (73.1) and Nathan Ake (72.7).He is working on his game with Jonny Evans and the coaching staff. Heaven spent time with Evans before pre-season started to get insight from a former Premier League-winning centre-back. They have been doing one-to-one sessions during pre-season after training, with Leny Yoro, 20, also taking up this additional work. The young pair complement Martinez, 28, and Maguire, 33, with Matthijs de Ligt, 27, also back on the grass after nearly nine months out with a back injury.Several academy players got opportunities during United’s pre-season, with Tyler Fletcher pushing to be considered among that first-team group of midfielders. Tynan Thompson, after signing from Tottenham, played 45 minutes in Dublin. JJ Gabriel was taken on his first pre-season tour aged 15, travelling with the squad to five out of the six matches. His action amounted to eight minutes, as a substitute against Atletico, replacing Mbeumo up top, and while his involvement, training with senior stars, is well ahead of nearly every other player his age in the country, a bit more playing exposure might have been anticipated. Back in England, Gabriel returned to under-21s action and scored a powerful strike into the top corner in a friendly against Sheffield Wednesday.Carrick’s immediate priority is his team’s opening day trip to Hull City, a team that has never beaten United in 10 Premier League matches. But Hull did win 2-1 the last time these sides faced in East Yorkshire, in the 2017 League Cup semi-final second leg.Carrick will hope that particular history is not repeated, and he picks up where he left off in May — with the best form in the top flight.