Manchester United’s incoming new signing Andrey Santos will reportedly take the number 17 shirt at Old Trafford.

Santos wore 17 at Chelsea, and it seems he’s set to keep that number as he closes in on completing his transfer to Man Utd this summer.

It has been widely reported that the talented young Brazil international is on his way to United, as first broken by the Athletic, and it seems reliable journalist Sam C has another update.

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See below as he claims that Santos’ shirt number at United has already been decided, and he’ll once again wear the 17 he’d had at Chelsea…

REVEALED: Santos to wear the No17 shirt at Old Trafford ?? https://t.co/DVfLGwpBhn

— Sam C (@SamC_reports) July 10, 2026

United fans will now just be hoping this can be made official soon as it looks like potentially a smart piece of business that won’t cost a fortune.

Andrey Santos to join Manchester United following Chelsea chapter

In some ways, it’s surprising that Chelsea have decided to let a promising talent like Santos go, as it looked like he could be the future of their midfield.

The Blues have often recruited elite young talents under their current owners, with Santos looking like one of their better finds among a long list of flops.

And yet, it hasn’t taken Chelsea long to decide to let the 22-year-old leave, and on top of that, he’s on his way to a major big six rival.

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Chelsea have been stung in the past

Santos’ departure might not seem like the biggest deal now, but then that was also true when Chelsea famously let Kevin De Bruyne and Mohamed Salah go as youngsters.

De Bruyne was allowed to move to Wolfsburg, and he did so well there that it wasn’t long before Manchester City snapped him up.

The rest is history – De Bruyne become a City legend and all-time Premier League great.

Similarly, Salah was offloaded to Roma, only for him to then end up back in England with Liverpool, where he also became one of the very best players in the world, and a Premier League all-timer.

MUFC will hope Santos can enjoy a similar bounce upon leaving Chelsea this summer.