Man Utd Announce First Summer Signing ‘Excited’ to Work With Michael Carrick

The deal could be the first of several new midfielders ahead of next season.

Andrey Santos joins Man Utd. | Manchester United/Getty Images

Manchester United have made Andrey Santos their first signing of the summer as a midfield rebuild formally gets underway with the Red Devils handing over a guaranteed £48 million ($64.3 million) to Chelsea. Another £2 million ($2.7 million) could follow in conditional add-ons.

Santos made 43 appearances for Chelsea last season across all competitions, having previously impressed during 18 months on loan at partner club Strasbourg. The Brazilian, now 22 years of age, was only a teenager when he first arrived at Stamford Bridge in 2023.

His contract with United is for an initial five-year period, with an option to extend to 2032.

“Everything about Manchester United is special,” Santos said in the club’s official communication. “It is an incredible feeling to join a club that some of my biggest idols have represented.

“As a midfielder, I am really excited to have the opportunity to learn from Michael Carrick, he is the perfect coach to help me take the next step in my career and push to achieve my dreams.

“Everybody told me about how ambitious the club is and the amazing environment that has been created here. I know just how strong the squad is and I cannot wait to fight together to compete for the biggest trophies.”

It is expected that Santos will shortly also be joined by Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa.

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Man Utd, Chelsea Transfers Relatively Frequent

For clubs that have co-existed as fierce competitive rivals in the Premier League era, the path from Chelsea to Manchester United and vice versa is relatively well trodden.

These aren’t teams that refused to do business in a way that say, Manchester United and Liverpool would never, and will happily turn to each other when both parties have something to gain.

Alejandro Garnacho was a mover from Old Trafford to Stamford Bridge as recently as last summer, while Mason Mount made the opposite switch in 2023. United loaned Jadon Sancho to Chelsea for the 2024–25 season and broke their club transfer record in 2014 to sign Juan Mata.

Nemanja Matić, Juan Sebastián Verón and Mark Hughes have all swapped colors, too.

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