Manchester United have reached an agreement with Chelsea to sign Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos in a deal worth up to £50 million.
The transfer gathered pace over the past few hours after United stepped up their interest during the weekend. The club will pay an initial £48m, with a further £2m in achievable add-ons. Chelsea has also secured a 10 per cent sell-on clause as part of the agreement.
Santos has now been cleared to undergo a medical before completing the move to Old Trafford.
United are also preparing to welcome fellow Brazilian Ederson, who is due for a medical ahead of his proposed £35m switch from Italian side Atalanta after Brazil’s exit from the World Cup.
The double move comes as United’s senior squad returns for pre-season training on Thursday, with the club eager to strengthen a midfield department that had become a growing concern.
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Recruiting a central midfielder emerged as one of United’s top priorities following Casemiro’s departure at the end of his contract. The situation became more pressing after Manuel Ugarte suffered cruciate knee ligament damage, ruling the Uruguay international out for an extended spell.
United explored several options before settling on Santos. A move for Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson proved too expensive, with the asking price rising beyond £110m.
The club also targeted West Ham midfielder Mateus Fernandes, but Tottenham won the race after tabling an guaranteed £85m offer.
With Kobbie Mainoo still away on World Cup duty with England, United risked beginning their pre-season programme against Wrexham in Helsinki on 18 July with Mason Mount as Michael Carrick’s only recognized senior central midfielder.
Santos is expected to become Chelsea’s third major departure of the summer following Marc Cucurella’s move to Real Madrid and Tyrique George’s transfer to Everton.
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