£70m would land Chelsea exceptional Man U talent – but only if Andrey Santos leaves | OneFootball

The latest transfer gossip about Kobbie Mainoo is out, and it’s rather promising for Chelsea fans keen to see their team snap up the 19 year old from Manchester United.

Mainoo has been linked with us pretty extensively in the last few months, as his future at Old Trafford grows more and more uncertain.

Today, former Manchester United scout Mick Brown has told Football Insider that he thinks his old club want £70m for their academy produced central midfielder.

“He’s a current England international,” Brown said.

“Given the market being what it is, I think United will accept a fee of around £70million… They can raise some money which can go back into the club and hopefully there will be some left over to fund a replacement.

“Personally, I don’t think they should even be thinking about selling him, but if he wants to leave and they think that’s the best decision, then that’s up to them.”

Chelsea’s Mainoo interest levels remain a mystery

Kobbie Mainoo playing for Manchester United. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The Mainoo case is an interesting one. We can well believe that Chelsea are interested in him, and would jump at the chance to bring in a talented young England star. He’s the right age and profile to fit what our current model looks for.

But any deal is contingent on so many things, it’s hard to predict now how things will look in the summer.

For one thing, Andrey Santos’s status is uncertain. If the midfielder comes back to Chelsea and Romeo Lavia sorts his injury problems out, it’s hard to see the club spending a major fee like £70m on Mainoo to be their 5th choice midfielder.

On the other hand, if they’re tempted into flipping Santos for a quick profit (which seems to be a possibility given recent rumours), a discount Mainoo could be the perfect way to spend that money.