Man Utd successfully raid Chelsea for second midfield signing after Ederson

8 Jul 2026 18:31 BST | 4 min read

Xabi Alonso, Chelsea, Michael Carrick, Man Utd — © IMAGO

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Manchester United have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Andrey Santos.

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The Red Devils have secured their second midfield signing after Ederson, who should be unveiled by the club imminently. Last month, Man Utd settled on a €45 million package to acquire the Brazil international from Atalanta.

The two clubs agreed that the transfer would only be made official in July, and an announcement was further delayed by his belated call-up to Brazil's World Cup squad. With the Selecao suffering a premature exit, Ederson is now free to join Man Utd.

Current ETV

Andrey Santos

M, DM (C)

Chelsea

Andrey Santos

M, DM (C)

Chelsea

ETV Range

€44.4M - €54.3M

However, it was always clear that he would not be the only signing for the engine room. Man Utd have always insisted that they wanted at least two new midfielders, even after Manuel Ugarte suffered an injury, which has all but ended the club's hopes of offloading him this summer.

That second midfield signing will evidently be Santos. David Ornstein of The Athletic has announced that Man Utd have agreed a deal with Chelsea to purchase the 22-year-old.

Man Utd finally sign Santos

The fact that the Old Trafford club have settled on Santos should not be entirely surprising. The Brazilian was a long-standing target for the club. His name was floated last year during talks with Chelsea over the sale of Alejandro Garnacho.

At the time, nothing materialised because the Blues were not keen to part with the midfielder, who was coming off a very impressive loan at sister club Strasbourg. The situation has now changed after Santos failed to become a starter in 2025/26.

The 22-year-old showed glimpses of his undeniable talent, but it was ultimately too tall a task to break into a midfield of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo. Chelsea now need to make sales to balance the books after yet again recording a huge financial loss.

This has allowed Man Utd to pounce. Ornstein understands that around €56.3m will be paid to Chelsea upfront, with a further €2.3m available in easily achievable bonuses. The Blues will retain a 10% sell-on clause.

Personal terms between Santos and Man Utd have already been agreed. The midfielder will now undertake his medical and put pen to paper on a five-year contract. Man Utd's midfield rebuild will be an all-Brazilian affair.

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