Manchester United target Andrey Santos but Chelsea value midfielder at £50m

Manchester United are targeting the Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, who is valued in the region of £50m.

After missing out on Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, United were forced to look elsewhere as they seek to rebuild their midfield under Michael Carrick, with Bournemouth’s Alex Scott also of interest to the club’s hierarchy. The Brazilian is behind Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández at Stamford Bridge and the Blues need to bring in funds in order to aide new head coach Xabi Alonso’s ambitions to strengthen.

Santos is open to leaving Stamford Bridge to get more regular minutes with his path blocked by Caicedo, who recently signed a contract extension. Newcastle are also monitoring the situation as they seek a replacement for Sandro Tonali, who will join Tottenham.

United will return to the Champions League this season and have identified midfield as the area that needs the most investment. An agreement is already in place to sign Éderson from Atalanta for £35m, although has been delayed by the player’s late World Cup call-up.

There is a shortage of depth in midfielder after Casemiro left the club and Manuel Ugarte suffered knee ligament damage in Uruguay’s defeat by Spain last week.

Santos, 22, moved to Chelsea from Vasco da Gama for £18m in 2023 before spending time on loan at Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg. He made 27 Premier League appearances last season, scoring once. He has six caps for Brazil but is not a member of Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad.

Chelsea are interested in signing the experienced Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka, who previously worked with Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, but have thus far been rebuffed by the Black Cats.