Chelsea respond to West Ham’s £42m bid for midfielder after Arsenal approach

West Ham have submitted a £42m transfer bid for Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, according to reports.

Graham Potter is desperate to strengthen his Hammers squad before the transfer deadline, especially after West Ham lost 3-0 to newly-promoted Sunderland on the opening day.

Brazil international Santos, who Chelsea signed in 2023, has emerged as a target for the east London outfit.

South American football experts Vene Casagrande and Eduardo Burgos say West Ham submitted a bid worth £42m for the 21-year-old.

Chelsea rejected the offer, however, and made it clear to West Ham that they were determined to keep Santos at Stamford Bridge this summer.

Santos’ career was threatening to stagnate following a poor loan spell at Nottingham Forest but the Brazilian was one of the best players in Ligue 1 last season.

The highly-rated star scored 11 goals in 34 games for Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg.

Santos’ form attracted interest from French champions PSG, while Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal reportedly made an approach earlier in the summer.

Speaking back in May, Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly appeared to rule out a summer move for Santos, who was signed from Brazilian side Vasco da Gama.

‘We’re going to the Club World Cup so, right now, we’re laser-focused on the Club World Cup,’ Boehly said.

‘We have some players that are joining us for the Club World Cup that weren’t on the team.

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‘Andrey Santos is coming from Strasbourg. We’re really excited about him and what we think he can add to the squad.’

Santos made four appearances for Chelsea at the Club World Cup but largely featured off the bench.

During the tournament, which of course Chelsea won, manager Enzo Maresca warned the youngster was still not ready and needed more time to ‘understand’ how the Blues are set up.

‘He’s working well, but he needs to understand how we play,’ Maresca said following a group-stage win.

‘It’s the same for all of the new ones. It’s important for them to continue in the way they are working to get opportunities.’

As Santos attracted attention from rival clubs earlier in the summer, Chelsea were said to have placed a £50m price-tag on his head.

The Blues are keen to offload a number of players before the transfer window closes but their focus currently is finding new clubs for Christopher Nkunku and potentially Nicolas Jackson.

Speaking in June, Santos insisted he ‘loved’ Chelsea and was desperate to make it at Stamford Bridge.

‘The only conversation I had was that I would play in the Club World Cup for Chelsea and after that we’ll see what happens,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘Everyone knows about my love, my desire to play for Chelsea. I think Enzo Maresca was very sincere with me, and I liked that sincerity.

‘Also, when you look someone in the eye, when you’re sincere, you build trust with the player.

‘So I accepted that and went to Strasbourg to get minutes. And now, God willing, we’ll see how it goes at the Club World Cup. I hope everything goes well.’

West Ham beaten by Sunderland on opening day

West Ham will look to accelerate their transfer efforts after suffering a demoralising 3-0 defeat to Premier League new-boys Sunderland on the opening weekend.

Speaking after the loss at the Stadium of Light, Potter said: ‘The result is obviously bad for us, and the second half was really disappointing.

‘In the first half, I thought we were good. I thought we did lots well in terms of quieting the crowd down and creating some opportunities. We could have scored, I thought, but nevertheless, we felt OK.

‘We started a bit slow in the second half, and from out of nowhere, a goal goes in and it becomes difficult.

‘It was a game where probably the first goal, especially here with the environment, was going to be challenging for us. But we tried to push.

‘But in trying to push, we opened ourselves up. The second goal’s a poor one – a mistake leads to a cheap set-piece, and then we didn’t do the basics well enough in the second phase.

‘We haven’t done the basics well enough – it’s as simple as that, and we have to improve that.’

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