Could Santos leave Chelsea this summer?

[Getty Images] Chelsea have not ruled out selling Andrey Santos in a transfer market in which defensive midfielders are commanding record fees. The Blues value the 22-year-old Brazil international highly and he is not being pushed out at Stamford Bridge, but Elliot Anderson's £116m move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City has set a high benchmark for midfield transfer fees. That trend has continued with Matheus Fernandes' £85m move from West Ham to Tottenham , while Spurs have also agreed a deal worth up to £100m for Newcastle's Sandro Tonali . A number of sides are understood to be interested in Santos, who has scored three goals and provided five assists in 47 games for Chelsea since joining from Vasco da Gama for £18m in 2022. Chelsea need to balance strengthening the squad under new manager Xabi Alonso with the need to manage finances and limited minutes available to players after failing to qualify for European competition. They also remain under a Uefa settlement agreement, which places constraints on spending. Chelsea have ongoing interest in signing Sunderland midfielder Granit Xhaka and Valentin Barco is expected to join from Strasbourg . As a result, Santos could be available for a significant fee - although an exact valuation for buying clubs remains unclear. He is in a similar uncertain position to much of Chelsea's squad, apart from a small group of players actively available for transfer and others considered untouchable - including Joao Pedro, Cole Palmer, Moises Caicedo and Josh Acheampong. Those close to Santos seem open to the possibility of a move, and his situation is one that could evolve over the coming months.