The Evening Standard has reported that Chelsea are close to completing the signing of Brazilian talent Andrey Santos.
Santos is a midfielder who plays for Vasco de Gama and his impressive performances this season have attracted Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain’s interest. The 18-year-old has emerged as a target for Todd Boehly and co, who are looking to bring in young overseas talent to increase the level of homegrown players. Consequently, Palmeiras jewel Endrick has also been identified as a potential target.
The source claims that Chelsea are in advanced talks with Vasco de Gama to sign Santos in January after stealing a march on PSG, and a deal worth around £12m is expected to be wrapped-up over the coming weeks.
The South American has eight goals from 33 appearances for Vasco de Gama and has already drawn comparisons to Newcastle United’s Bruno Guimares. Todd Boehly sent academy director Neil Bath to Brazil to close the deal.
Santos could be followed by 16-year-old prospect, Endrick, who has been heavily tipped to move to England once he turns 18. Although Chelsea will once again have to battle it out with PSG over a deal for the highly-rated forward.
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Chelsea are looking to secure their future and their interest in Endrick and Santos confirms that, however, the Londoners are also targeting ready-made players and the Evening Standard says they are on the verge of securing a £50m deal for Christopher Nkunku. The French international has been in excellent form for RB Leipzig over the past 18 months and he’s now set for a big-money move to Stamford Bridge.
Having lost Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, and now being close to parting ways with Hakim Ziyech, Graham Potter’s side are in need of attacking reinforcements. Nkunku would provide Potter with another top class option in the final third so he should prove to be an excellent addition to the Chelsea squad.
The West Londoners’ interest in Santos is also well justified. N’Golo Kante and Jorginho are currently in the final years of their respective deals and so far, no agreement has been reached over extensions. Both players could be on the move for free next summer so Chelsea need replacements and Santos has seemingly been identified as a prime target.
Santos could be the next big thing in the middle of the park and could play an integral part in the exciting project brewing at Stamford Bridge, under Graham Potter.
We’ll have to wait and see how things develop over the coming weeks but it looks like Chelsea are closing-in on a £62m double swoop for Santos and Nkunku as Potter begins to reshape his squad.
