West Ham “abandon” plans to try and sign impressive Chelsea midfielder for £45m | OneFootball

The slightly strange and very short lived Andrey Santos exit transfer rumour looks to already be over.

West Ham made serious effort to sign Blues midfielder

Andrey Santos in preseason training. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

There were certainly fears about his future earlier in the summer when he didn’t feature much in the early stages of the Club World Cup.

Surely the Blues weren’t seriously thinking about moving him on after a brilliant season on loan in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg? His increasingly importance since calmed supporters down, but alarm bells were ringing once again over the weekend when it was noted that West Ham were determined to try and sign him before the window closes.

They had even apparently made a £45m bid for the former Vasca de Gama man.

For all the good work that Chelsea’s sporting directors have done, they had made a few sales which fans have strongly disagreed with. Santos leaving would have topped them all, however.

West Ham retire Santos interest as Brazilian’s importance becomes clear

The good news is that that rumour can now already pretty much be put to bed.

According to a report from the Evening Standard, West Ham “abandoned their pursuit” of the midfielder this week after he came off the bench in Sunday’s draw with Crystal Palace.

Unfortunately for Santos his most notable moment in the game came when he blasted a golden opportunity to win the game high over the bar. But that’s only a small mark against him after a summer where he has finally been given the chance to show what he can do for Chelsea.

He’s taking advantage of Romeo Lavia’s latest injury absence, and the Belgian’s fondness for a spell on the sidelines means Santos can expect plenty more chances this season.

Let’s just get him working on his first time finishing for now…