How Carlos Baleba compares to Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans as Man United close in on Cameroonian

Carlos Baleba is set to make the move to Manchester United before the end of the summer transfer window, with the Red Devils seemingly securing a third midfield signing, which was always their plan for the current market.

Man United are yet to come to an agreement with Brighton over a transfer fee, but it is understood that the two parties are confident of settling on a price in the near future.

The 22-year-old is currently on the sidelines with an ankle injury, but that will only rule him out for another two or three weeks, so a debut for the Red Devils in September is expected.

Here, Sports Mole looks at what Baleba would bring to Man United and how the Cameroon international compares to the club's other two midfield signings this summer Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans.

Baleba: Man United's new ball carrier

Baleba's ability to carry the ball through the lines is arguably his biggest strength, and it is an area that the 20-time English champions are lacking in at this stage of proceedings.

The Cameroonian has incredible physical attributes, capable of covering huge distances, which is certainly required in difficult matches away from home at the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool.

Man United head coach Michael Carrick wants his team to play an aggressive brand of football next term, and that will require a midfielder with incredible athleticism.

The midfield options available to Carrick mean that Baleba is unlikely to start every match, but expect to see the midfielder against the bigger teams in the division away from home and also in Champions League fixtures where the 20-time English champions will naturally have less of the ball.

Baleba's strengths are his tackling, physicality, defensive coverage and progressive carrying, but he is not at the same level as Tielemans when it comes to short and long passing, or chance creation.

The midfielder will also be hoping to improve his goalscoring threat at Man United having only scored four times and registered two assists in 112 appearances for Brighton.

According to Fotmob, Baleba won 58% of his aerial duels during last season's Premier League, while he also produced 29 interceptions and won possession back in the final third on 12 occasions.

However, he did not score a single goal or produce a single assist and also only managed two shots on target, showing clear areas for improvement next term.

Santos: The hybrid who has been branded "a dream" by Carrick

Man United had long been admirers of Santos, so it was not a surprise when the Red Devils decided to part with £50m to bring in the Brazilian from Chelsea this summer.

Carrick recently branded Santos "a dream", and there is no question that the midfielder has been one of Man United's strongest performers during pre-season.

For that reason, he is expected to be in the XI when Man United open their season against Hull City on Saturday.

Santos does not have the same passing ability as Tielemans, nor is he as physical as Baleba, but the Brazilian can do a little bit of everything, which makes him a vital player.

Expect to see the midfielder in the starting XI in testing European fixtures and also in Premier League matches against teams in the middle of the division.

According to Fotmob, Santos actually had a pass success rate of 90.1% for Chelsea in the Premier League last season across 27 matches, while he won 62% of his duels, but he only managed one goal and zero assists.

Santos ranks high in categories such as press resistance, aerial ability and short passing, and his ceiling is incredibly high, which is why Man United decided to part with a sizeable chunk of money.

The South American only managed three goals and five assists in his 47 appearances for Chelsea but did register 12 goals and five assists in 45 appearances for Strasbourg, and it will be fascinating to see how many goal contributions he can provide for the Red Devils.

Tielemans: Man United's midfield conductor

Signing Tielemans for £35m this summer was a no-brainer.

The 29-year-old is an incredibly experienced player in the Premier League, making 244 appearances in the competition for Leicester City and Aston Villa, scoring 26 goals and registering 39 assists.

Tielemans is also easily the most experienced of the three midfielders at Champions League level, playing 32 times in the competition, scoring three goals and registering three assists.

The Belgium international does not have the same physicality as Baleba or Santos, but he is comfortably the most accomplished of the three players when it comes to passing ability.

According to Fotmob, Tielemans had a pass success rate of 84.9% in the Premier League last season, while he created 32 chances, but his successful dribbles were down at nine.

Tielemans provided 203 defensive contributions, including 58 tackles and 14 blocked shots, showing what he will bring to Man United from a defensive point of view.

Incredibly, Tielemans did not pick up a single yellow or red card last season for Villa, and he is expected to be in Man United's starting side more often than not, but the options available mean that rotation will occur.