Man Utd land Santos and move closer to Tielemans

Manchester United have signed Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £48m and are now close to adding Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans as they continue their midfield rebuild. The move for Santos is complete, while the Tielemans deal looks increasingly likely to follow.

Santos has signed a contract until June 2031, with an option for a further year, after completing his medical and joining training with United. The 22-year-old arrives after making 43 appearances for Chelsea last season and is expected to be part of Michael Carrick’s plans immediately.

United’s director of football, Jason Wilcox, described Santos as an outstanding midfielder with strong technical ability and the potential to develop further. Santos himself said he was excited by the size and ambition of the club and by the chance to work under Carrick, whom he believes can help him take the next step in his career.

The Brazilian was not selected for the World Cup, which means he is available early in pre-season. United’s first friendly is against Wrexham in Helsinki on 18 July, so there is a chance he could feature quickly.

Tielemans is now the next name in focus. United have been tracking the Belgium midfielder for some time, and Villa’s release clause is understood to make negotiations easier. If the deal is completed, it would give United another proven Premier League midfielder with experience at the top level.

That would be important because midfield has been one of United’s biggest issues this summer. Casemiro has left, Manuel Ugarte is sidelined with a knee injury and several other targets slipped away, leaving Kobbie Mainoo as the only established orthodox central midfielder for a period.

United had hoped to sign Elliot Anderson, but he proved too expensive, while Mateus Fernandes chose Tottenham instead. That made Santos a priority, and now Tielemans appears to be the next piece of the puzzle.

There was one setback, though. United’s planned £35m move for Atalanta midfielder Ederson has been paused after a medical raised concerns about an injury-related issue. The deal is not necessarily dead, but for now it has been put on hold.

Even so, the overall picture is clear. United have acted to address a major weakness, Santos is already in the building, and Tielemans could soon follow. After a difficult period of uncertainty, the rebuild in midfield is finally starting to take shape.