Chelsea knock back £42m proposal from West Ham United for Andrey Santos | OneFootball

West Ham United have tabled a £42 million bid for Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, according to Diario AS journalist Eduardo Burgos.

They want reinforcements in the middle of the park at the London Stadium club following the dismal 3-0 defeat to Sunderland today.

Santos could be a solid signing, but Chelsea do not want to let him go as they consider him to be a key player in manager Enzo Maresca’s plans. They have rejected the bid.

The 21-year-old will be hoping to play regularly for Chelsea after spending the last 18 months on loan with Ligue 1 club Strasbourg.

Santos joined the Stamford Bridge club from Vasco da Gama in 2023. He spent the first half of 2023-24 on loan with Nottingham Forest before he was recalled after making just two appearances in five months.

He played four games for the Blues at the Club World Cup, but is not guaranteed a starting place in the starting XI this season.

West Ham struggled against the newly-promoted Black Cats today, and manager Graham Potter knows he needs to make quality additions to his squad before the summer transfer window closes.

They have signed Mads Hermansen, Callum Wilson, Kyle Walker-Peters and El Hadji Malick Diouf this summer.

Jean-Clair Todibo’s loan move was also made permanent, but their squad still need reinforcements.

West Ham are back in action next Friday for their first home game of the season when they take on Chelsea.

Santos could be featuring against them as they look to bounce back from today’s disappointing result.