Man Utd now ‘frontrunner’ to complete sensational Chelsea raid – it’s NOT Cole Palmer | OneFootball

A trusted source has confirmed Manchester United have held talks with Chelsea for a shock signing, and the latest update on the story states United are favourites to seal the deal.

Man Utd have and will continue to be linked with a blockbuster move for Cole Palmer. The Chelsea talisman was born and raised in Manchester and it’s no secret the Red Devils are his boyhood club and the team he supports.

Sources have confirmed Man Utd do hold ambitions of bringing Palmer back up north, though naturally, Chelsea have zero intention of selling.

Instead, a different player appears far more likely to swap Stamford Bridge for Old Trafford – central midfielder, Andrey Santos.

Trusted reporter, Ben Jacobs, recently confirmed Man Utd and Chelsea held talks over Santos’ transfer during the negotiations that took Alejandro Garnacho to the capital last summer.

Man Utd will sign one and more probably two new central midfielders at season’s end. Eliot Anderson, Adam Wharton and Carlos Baleba are widely understood to be their top targets.

But Santos would represent a more than worthy addition alongside one of that trio if deals with Nott’m Forest, Crystal Palace and Brighton prove tricky to agree.

And according to the latest from Brazilian outlet, NTVASCAINOS, Man Utd can now be considered frontrunners for Santos.

The outlet were reporting on the matter partly because Santos is Brazilian, put also because they specialise in covering the midfielder’s boyhood club, Vasco da Gama.

The Brazilian side are reportedly watching on with intent and will secretly hope Santos does change clubs given they’ll be due 2.5 percent of the total transfer fee.

NTVASCAINOS wrote on X: ‘Andrey Santos, a 21-year-old midfielder and Vasco da Gama youth product, is attracting interest from European giants and could be leaving Chelsea in the European summer transfer window, which begins in June.

‘Despite being frequently used by Liam Rosenior, with whom he had his best spell at Strasbourg in France, the English club’s board does not consider the Brazilian untouchable.

‘Manchester United emerges as the frontrunner to win the race for his signing. In addition to the English club, Juventus is also monitoring the situation.’

Santos has made 35 appearances for Chelsea this term, though the majority of those – especially in the Premier League and Champions League – weren’t starts.

He has featured from the off more regularly since Liam Rosenior took charge, however, and it would come as a surprise to see Chelsea greenlight a sale of such a promising young star.

Santos cost roughly £18m when signed from Vasco da Gama in 2023 and since then, his true transfer value has soared.

While only a guide, Transfermarkt estimate his value in the present day to be €45m / £39m. If selling to a direct rival like Man Utd, you can imagine Chelsea will demand even more.

In other news, Manchester United have indicated internally that Michael Carrick is firmly in contention to become the club’s next permanent head coach, but the hierarchy remain determined that any appointment will only be made after a full and exhaustive search, TEAMtalk understands.

Elsewhere, Jadon Sancho is understood to have advised his agents over which club he would ideally like to join this summer, with his United career now months from officially being over and with Aston Villa continuing to sit on making the move permanent.