Former Liverpool star John Arne Riise has said that he was surprised by Manchester United’s decision to sign midfielder Andrey Santos from Chelsea.
The Red Devils have prioritised strengthening their midfield department this summer.
Elliot Anderson was initially the prime target before the club turned their attention to Mateus Fernandes. Having missed out on both, United made the surprise choice to land Santos.
The deal came out of the blue with no speculation, and speaking to BestBettingSites, Riise acknowledged he did not expect the Red Devils to sign the Brazilian ace.
The 45-year-old added that United’s decision was probably influenced by early failures in the transfer market, but he reserved judgement on the £50 million signing.
He said: “Well, he’s a talented player [on Andrey Santos], but I didn’t see that move coming, to be honest.
“It just shows you that if you need a specific profile and you don’t get your first or second-choice targets, you have to bring someone in because you desperately need that presence in your team. Whether he’s going to be successful or not, you never know.”
Santos had his breakthrough season with Chelsea last term. It was not a memorable one for him, with only 1,255 minutes of league action from 27 appearances.
The 22-year-old largely played second fiddle to Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez. He made the right choice to move on and compete for a starting midfield berth at United.
Santos may not have made a significant contribution for the Blues, but he was quite exceptional during his season-long loan at Ligue 1 club Strasbourg in 2024/25.
The young midfielder had a passing accuracy of almost 90 percent. He won an impressive seven duels per league appearance, with six recoveries and almost four tackles.
The Vasco da Gama graduate was also brilliant in the final third. He made 16 goal contributions in all competitions and also captained the side on nine occasions.
Hence, Santos has immense potential, and the onus is on him to fulfil it at United.
Stats from Sofascore & Transfermarkt