Chelsea First Team Player Set to Sign for Manchester United

As you will have noticed, there were not many Chelsea players called up for this summer’s FIFA World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. A pretty damning indictment on the 25/26 season and the level of player in the current squad.

One of many Chelsea players not selected for the World Cup was Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos. The 22 year old has six caps and played in the March international break, but did not make the final cut chosen by former Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti.

He had had a decent start to the 25/26 campaign, but tailed off. It’s sort of poetic that his goal - and general top performance - against Spurs in May came the day after the Brazil squad was announced. Too little too late at the end of the day.

Ultimately, Santos just struggled to consistently nail down a starting position, being named in the XI just 13 times in the Premier League last season, coming off the bench a further 14 times.

Well, it looks as if he may have been named in the starting XI for the final time at Chelsea. Indeed so, as Mike Keegan is reporting that Santos is “edging closer” to joining Manchester United, with “talks progressing” between the clubs. Chelsea are said to be seeking £50m for the player.

This has now also been reported by highly reputable journalist David Ornstein of The Athletic, who has this evening tweeted that United and Chelsea have reached an agreement for Santos, worth £48m + £2m "easily achievable" add ons, and a 10% sell on clause. He says that permission has been given to underdo a medical at Old Trafford, with personal terms in place. 

So, there you go - Santos will join United this summer for £50m or so. It will be interesting to see how Chelsea reinvest this money. A midfielder or two will surely be required now, you would have thought. 

It's a shame it didn't quite work out for the Brazilian in SW6. There were flashes of promise, Burnley away back in late November of last season instantly springs to mind. He is clearly a very good player, as he showed during his loan at Strasbourg the season before last. Good luck to him, even if it is for a side that Chelsea will be looking to try and finish above in the coming Premier League season. Let's see what happens.