Chelsea will send a clear message to Manchester United that Andrey Santos is firmly not for sale, doubling down on their stance as the Brazilian flourishes under Liam Rosenior’s familiar guidance.
Andrey Santos almost left Chelsea in the summer under Enzo Maresca, despite impressing during his loan spell at Strasbourg last season.
What a mistake that would have been. Santos is currently one of the first names on the teamsheet at Chelsea, consistently delivering world-class performances under Liam Rosenior.
It’s safe to say that Santos has set the benchmark for any aspiring youngster at the club that you will be given the opportunity if you perform.
And his performances have even attracted the interest of Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Enzo Maresca hang your head in shame 😬
Was he the problem?
Enzo Maresca's prediction about Joao Pedro was wrong
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Ben Jacobs shares Chelsea’s likely stance on Andrey Santos
Speaking on the United in Focus YouTube channel, Ben Jacobs claims that Manchester United have an active interest in signing Andrey Santos.
“The only other name that I’ve heard and I’ll kind of repeat it from the Garnacho talks, is Andre Santos.
“And right now, I think less likely than it was when Man United 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.”
Discuss: Joao Pedro is the new Didier Drogba 🔥
He's overtaken the Chelsea icon's first-season numbers.
The situation where an Andrey Santos exit could be possible
Ben Jacobs did give one potential situation where a Santos exit could occur.
“But if Chelsea brings in another midfielder, you’ve got Enzo Fernandez, who’s been pushed forwards. If Romeo Lavia gets fit, Ree James is being played in midfield and Moises Caicedo is basically undroppable. So Chelsea do have a lot of midfielders and Manchester United’s interest in Andre Santos also remains.
“It’s just not currently a market opportunity and because of all these long-term contracts that Chelsea hand out as it stands at the moment in any negotiation, they’ve got all of the cards.”
Steve McManaman has even claimed that he prefers watching Santos to Moises Caicedo, which shows just how well he’s performed this season.
Join Our Newsletter
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox