Chelsea could hijack next Man Utd midfield signing as Alonso eyes two deals worth €95m | OneFootball

Chelsea are reportedly in the race to sign Man Utd transfer target Danilo Santos this summer after agreeing to sell Andrey Santos.

The Blues finished last season in tenth place in the Premier League after a turbulent campaign which saw them sack Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior.

Chelsea are without any European football next season, which could help their progress in the Premier League, but may restrict them in the transfer market.

Only Marc Cucurella has left so far out of their best players, while Chelsea have brought in five new players with Sporting CP’s Geovany Quenda, Corinthians’ Denner, Kairat Almaty’s Dastan Satpaev, Strasbourg’s Emmanuel Emegha and Atalanta’s Marco Palestra all joining.

On Friday, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Man Utd were closing in on the signing of Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos after the Brazilian passed a medical.

Romano wrote on X: ‘Andrey Santos has signed his contract as new Man United player. Up next; club statement.’

And now Chelsea could hijack one of Man Utd’s next signings in midfield with Brazilian website FogãoNET claiming that the Blues have made contact over a potential move for Botafogo midfielder Danilo, who was in the Brazil World Cup squad.

Chelsea are also looking to improve in goal with Porto’s Diogo Costa emerging as a target despite TSF claiming that the Portuguese side are ‘not interested in letting the goalkeeper leave’.

If Porto refuse to negotiate then Chelsea ‘could trigger his €60 million release clause’ with the Blues ‘the club most tempted to invest’ in Costa out of the other top European sides monitoring the goalkeeper.

The report adds: ‘The London club has been keeping an eye on the goalkeeper for some time , even before the World Cup, but Diogo Costa’s outstanding performances for the national team have intensified Chelsea’s interest. Xabi Alonso is now the manager of the Blues and is also an admirer of the 26-year-old player.

‘Porto has not yet received any offers for Diogo Costa and, by all indications, he will start working under Francesco Farioli as soon as he returns from vacation, but Chelsea has the FC Porto goalkeeper at the top of their priorities and will not give up on signing him anytime soon for the upcoming season.’

Butt: ‘I hope I’m wrong’ about Chelsea midfielder

Former Man Utd midfielder Nicky Butt has big doubts about the Red Devils signing Chelsea midfielder Santos if he’s set to start for Michael Carrick next season.

Butt told Paddy Power: “If he’s brought in at £25-30 million you could understand it… But he’s not being signed for £50m to just be sat on the bench, he has to be a starter. I’ve seen him play a few times but nothing stands out that makes you go, ‘wow, he’s got great ability on the ball or he’s a powerhouse’,” Butt explained.

“It’s either genius by the recruitment team and they’re saying, ‘this lad is going to be the next big thing, we’ll pay the £50m quick and throw him straight in the deep end’. But by virtue of him only starting 13 games for Chelsea last year, who finished 10th, it doesn’t scream out a good signing to me. I hope I’m wrong, I hope he turns out to be a great player and blows us away.

“This lad’s barely played 10 games. It’s a strange one, it’s not one I’m jumping around going, ‘what a signing, I’m really happy with it’. We need players in midfield that make us a lot better. I really don’t like having a go at young players or new signings before they go and prove themselves, but it’s one where they’re buying potential over someone that’s done it.”