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- 31 minutes ago
Man Utd to sign 'best player in the world' from Chelsea on one condition
Tom Weber
- Updated: 6 Mar 2026 19:32 GMT
- 4 min read
News
Manchester United could be handed the chance to reignite their interest in Andrey Santos if Chelsea sign a new midfielder, according to a reliable journalist.
The Red Devils are looking to revamp their engine room this summer. Casemiro is set to leave the club when his contract expires, while Manuel Ugarte is facing an uncertain future after failing to live up to expectations.
Signing at least two new midfielders is on the agenda. Man Utd's main targets are Elliot Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba, but several other players could also be pursued under the right conditions.
Current ETV
Andrey Santos
M, DM (C)
Chelsea
Andrey Santos
M, DM (C)
Chelsea
ETV Range
€45.1M - €55.1M
According to Ben Jacobs, one such player may be Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos. Man Utd previously explored a deal for the Brazilian when they discussed the transfer of Alejandro Garnacho with the Blues.
Santos has started most of Chelsea's recent games, which isn't a major surprise given that Liam Rosenior already coached him at Strasbourg. During his time in France, the 21-year-old was described as "the best player in the world" by teammate Diego Moreira.
Man Utd could sign Santos
Despite Santos now seemingly being a regular, there is a scenario in which he could potentially become available this summer. If Chelsea sign another midfielder - which is a distinct possibility - they may be willing to discuss the future of the Brazil international, according to Jacobs.
For now, though, Chelsea remain firm in their stance that Santos is not for sale, as they already made clear to their counterparts from Manchester last summer. "The only other name that I’ve heard and I’ll kind of repeat it from the Garnacho talks, is Andrey Santos," Jacobs said on The United Stand.
"And right now, I think it's less likely than it was when Man Utd and Chelsea were negotiating over Alejandro Garnacho because at that point, Santos was not really getting game time. And now he’s playing under a manager who knows him really well from Strasbourg.
"And as a consequence, Chelsea’s not for sale stance, which was said at the time when they were talking over Alejandro Garnacho, is probably one that you would expect them to double down on heading into the summer.
"But if Chelsea bring in another midfielder, you’ve got Enzo Fernandez, who’s been pushed forwards, if Romeo Lavia gets fit, Reece James is being played in midfield and Moises Caicedo is basically undroppable - so, Chelsea do have a lot of midfielders.
"Man Utd's interest in Santos also remains, it's just not currently a market opportunity. Because of all these long-term contracts Chelsea hand out, as it stands at the moment, in any negotiation, they've got all of the cards."
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