Manchester United may be closing in on the capture of Andrey Santos in a move that has not gone down too well with Chelsea supporters, though the Blues are reportedly planning to use funds from his sale to beat the Red Devils to another in-demand midfielder.
The Red Devils are looking to wrap up a move for the 22-year-old Brazilian quickly after thrashing out a payment structure with Chelsea, which will see them spending around the £50m mark to land the six-times capped midfielder.
Leaving Stamford Bridge after just 47 games in a Blues shirt, Santos will become the second midfield signing of the summer for Manchester United after a previous agreement for his international teammate Ederson, though that first deal still remains subject to a medical.
TEAMtalk confirmed on Wednesday that United had beaten off significant competition from within the Premier League and Saudi Arabia to sign Santos, who is expected to travel north for talks and should finalise the move quickly.
For United, the capture of Santos represents a breakthrough moment in their summer; the chance to land a Premier League proven midfielder for a fee that is seen as reasonable and, given the excessive prices knocking around for players this summer, is a real win for INEOS, who have been forced to sit back and watch other targets, such as Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, and notably, Elliot Anderson all move elsewhere for exorbatant fees.
Understandably, Chelsea fans are less than impressed at the news, especially as it leaves only the injury-prone Romeo Lavia as cover in midfield.
However, according to notable Chelsea specialist journalist Si Phillips, the Blues plan to use the funds from Santos’ sale to launch a bid for Bournemouth star Alex Scott, a midfielder who is also very much on United’s radar…
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Alex Scott to Chelsea: What is the Bournemouth stance?
Indeed, we exclusively revealed on Monday that United’s midfield wishlist has now been cut from six players to three, with Santos, Tyler Adams and Felix Nmecha on their wishlist.
And while England hopeful Scott is a player INEOS would love to sign, complications around his future means any deal with Bournemouth is not going to be an easy one to do.
Indeed, in the days leading up to the announcement that Mateus Fernandes had chosen to join Tottenham over United (albeit United’s offer did not match Spurs’), we revealed that United had also enquired to Bournemouth about the possibility of signing Scott.
And in a short and abrupt reply, the Cherries told United that Scott was not for sale, with the club instead focused on tying the young midfielder down to a new and improved contract.
According to Phillips, though, that will not be enough to dissuade the Blues, and he expects BlueCo to now launch a move to bring the 22-year-old to Stamford Bridge.
The Guernsey-born star is rated in the £80m bracket, but even that may not be enough to convince Bournemouth to sell, who are determined to keep their squad in check this summer as they prepare for a maiden season of European football.
They are also taking the same stance with forward Eli Junior Kroupi, though reports of interest from PSG and Tottenham suggest they could face an even bigger battle on that front.
Should they lose the French forward, that will only see the Cherries double down on their wish to retain Scott.
However, BlueCo have shown they are prepared to spend big when they set their sights on a target and an aggressive pursuit could yet force Bournemouth’s hand…
On the subject of Santos, his medical is expected to take place on Thursday, while Real Madrid have very quickly reached a verdict on selling Aurlien Tchouameni to Manchester United this summer.
Elsewhere, in an exclusive interview, a former United star has revealed Michael Carrick’s true feelings on ushering Marcus Rashford back into his Manchester United fold this summer.
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