Man United’s Midfield Crisis Just Got Worse. They’re Eyeing a £50m Chelsea Backup.

Manchester United’s midfield situation has gone from thin to borderline desperate. And they’re now looking at Chelsea’s Andrey Santos as a potential fix.

After whiffing on Elliot Anderson — who’s about to become the most expensive British player ever at £116m moving to Manchester City — and losing out on Mateus Fernandes to Tottenham for £85m, United needs bodies in the middle of the park. Badly.

Casemiro is already gone. Then Manuel Ugarte went down with what looks like a serious injury at the World Cup. That leaves Kobbie Mainoo as the only fully fit senior midfielder on the roster. Not great for a club that expects to compete for a Champions League spot.

The Santos Situation

Santos has been at Chelsea since 2023 and has played 47 times for the club, though a lot of that came through loan spells. He started 13 Premier League games last season but he’s stuck behind Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the pecking order. Both of those guys are expected to stay. Real Madrid even had to publicly deny they were interested in Fernandez this summer, which is a rare move for them.

Chelsea values Santos at around £50m. United is apparently considering whether to pay that.

Ederson Deal Almost Done

United is close to completing a £35m move for Atalanta’s Ederson, another Brazilian international. That deal should go through. But the club is still looking for at least one more midfielder, maybe even two.

They’ve kicked the tires on a few other names too. Brighton’s Carlos Baleba, Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton, and Real Madrid’s Aurelien Tchouameni have all been on their radar at some point this window. Nothing has materialized yet.

The Anderson miss stings. Nottingham Forest was asking for a record fee and City paid it. Fernandes went to Tottenham for a huge number too. United just couldn’t get either deal done.

So now they’re circling back to Santos. He’s not a star, but he’s young, has Premier League experience, and he’s available. For a club that needs warm bodies in midfield before the season starts, that might be enough.