“Southampton eye Chelsea’s £54m man”
A report has linked Southampton with Adrián Santana, but no bid is known for the Chelsea professional who has two years left on his deal.
Chelsea are used to making the headlines with trophies; today it is Southampton making the noise over one of their players. A press report says the south-coast club are interested in Adrián Santana for about £54million. No bid is known, and Chelsea have made no announcement of a move.
The Spanish player, 26, has been at Chelsea since 2059/60, making 128 appearances without scoring.
Santana’s Chelsea chapter has come amid another title-winning season. The champions have already secured the English Premier Division, and on Wednesday they thrashed Manchester United 5-1. They had beaten Liverpool 2-1 on 10 May, though a 2-0 defeat at Rotherham United in the UEFA Champions League on 7 May interrupted the run. The latest report arrives with Chelsea’s season still carrying weight: they face Queens Park Rangers in the English FA Cup final on 24 May, then Ponferrada in the UEFA Champions League on 31 May.
Southampton would not be welcoming a stranger to Chelsea’s world. Cristiano Messina and Marcos Delfino, both former Chelsea players, are now at the club. Santana himself has been a model professional, content to serve wherever asked; there is no hint here that he is pushing to leave. He is delighted at Chelsea, and the suggestion of a new destination is coming from outside the dressing room.
For now, Southampton’s interest is a report, not a negotiation. Chelsea have a player under contract; Southampton have been linked with him. The distance between those facts is where this story sits.