Manchester United have identified Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos as a priority target as Michael Carrick looks to rebuild his squad, though they face competition from Newcastle United. The Brazil international is valued at approximately £50m by the west London club.
Santos is open to departing Stamford Bridge in search of consistent minutes. The 22-year-old finds himself behind Moisés Caicedo, who recently signed a contract extension, and Enzo Fernández in the midfield hierarchy. Despite these obstacles, Santos made 27 Premier League appearances last season, scoring once.
United’s midfield rebuild
United’s need for reinforcements has become urgent following Casemiro’s departure and a knee ligament injury to Manuel Ugarte sustained during Uruguay’s defeat by Spain. The club will return to the Champions League this season and has identified midfield as the area requiring the greatest investment.
An agreement is already in place to sign Éderson from Atalanta for £35m, although the transfer has been delayed by the player’s late call-up to the World Cup squad. United had previously pursued Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernández but were forced to look elsewhere after missing out on those targets. Bournemouth’s Alex Scott remains under consideration as an alternative option.
Newcastle seek replacements
Newcastle are also monitoring Santos as they prepare for Sandro Tonali’s imminent move to Tottenham. The Magpies view the Brazilian as a potential solution to fill the void left by the Italian’s expected exit.
Chelsea’s sales strategy
Chelsea are willing to sanction Santos’s departure as they look to raise funds to support new head coach Xabi Alonso’s squad rebuild. The club signed the former Vasco da Gama player for £18m in 2023 and subsequently sent him on loan spells at Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg before integrating him into the first team.
While Santos has earned six caps for Brazil, he was not selected for Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad. Chelsea are simultaneously exploring their own midfield reinforcements, having expressed interest in Sunderland’s Granit Xhaka, who previously worked with Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen. However, the Black Cats have thus far rejected approaches for the experienced midfielder.