Manchester United are targeting the Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, who is valued in the region of £50m. Talks are yet to take place between the two clubs but an offer is expected.
After missing out on Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, United were forced to look elsewhere as they seek to rebuild their midfield under Michael Carrick, with Bournemouth’s Alex Scott also of interest to the club’s hierarchy. The Brazilian is behind Moisés Caicedo and Enzo Fernández at Stamford Bridge and the Blues need to bring in funds in order to aide the ambitions to strengthen of the new head coach, Xabi Alonso.
Santos is open to leaving Stamford Bridge to get more regular minutes with his path blocked by Caicedo, who recently signed a contract extension. Newcastle are also monitoring the situation as they seek a replacement for Sandro Tonali, who will join Tottenham.
United will return to the Champions League this season and have identified midfield as the area that needs the most investment. An agreement is already in place to sign Éderson from Atalanta for £35m, although has been delayed by the player’s late World Cup call-up.
There is a shortage of depth in midfield after Casemiro left the club and Manuel Ugarte suffered knee ligament damage in Uruguay’s defeat by Spain last week.
Real Madrid signed the Dutch defender Denzel Dumfries from Inter on Sunday for a reported €20m (£17m). "[We] have reached an agreement for the transfer of player Denzel Dumfries, who will be with our club for the next four seasons, until June 30, 2030," said Madrid in a statement.
The attacking right-back, 30, played with the Netherlands at the World Cup until they were eliminated in the last 32 on penalties by Morocco. Dumfries adds further competition at right-back alongside the England international Trent Alexander-Arnold.
The Dutchman joined Inter from PSV Eindhoven in 2021 and won two Serie A titles and has twice finished as a Champions League runner-up with the Italian side. The defender is the fourth signing Madrid have made this summer, after Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva and Ibrahima Konaté.
Madrid, who hired José Mourinho as coach to replace Álvaro Arbeloa, are overhauling their squad after going two consecutive seasons without a major trophy. Los Blancos also renewed the contract of the centre-back Antonio Rüdiger until 2027, after Dani Carvajal and David Alaba left the club at the end of last season. Agence France-Presse
Santos, 22, moved to Chelsea from Vasco da Gama for £18m in 2023 before spending time on loan at Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg. He made 27 Premier League appearances last season, scoring once. He has six caps for Brazil but has not been a member of Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad.
Chelsea are interested in signing the experienced Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka, who previously worked with Alonso at Bayer Leverkusen, but have thus far been rebuffed by the Black Cats.
