Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
Photo by Ash Donelon/Manchester United via Getty Images
In a move that was meant to help Andrey Santos earn more minutes than when he was at Chelsea, it looks as if playing at Man United could end up being a similar story.
Andrey Santos swapping Chelsea for Manchester United feels like a classic case of what could have been.
The kid clearly has world-class potential, but he simply hit a brick wall at Stamford Bridge. When a club spends absurd money on Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, the door for anyone else in that midfield gets slammed shut pretty fast.
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He barely got a sniff of regular minutes, and every tiny mistake seemed to get blown out of proportion. In the end, moving to Old Trafford was his only real way to save his career from sitting on the bench.
However, he could face a similar situation.
Carlos Baleba closes in on a move to Manchester United
Across Manchester United’s six pre-season friendlies, Andrey Santos featured in every match, totaling 359 minutes of action. His pre-season was highlighted by an 82-minute performance in a 2–1 victory against Atletico Madrid, earning his highest match rating (7.6).
However, the general consensus amongst fans is that he’s still yet to really prove his worth.
Youri Tielemans was also signed this summer and played the full 90 minutes against AC Milan recently after returning from the World Cup.
The one difference between Santos and Tielemans is that the latter offers more creativity and operates in a slightly more advanced role, which forces Santos into the more defensive role.
However, David Ornstein is now reporting that Manchester United are closing in on a deal to sign Brighton star Carlos Baleba for around £65 million.
Manchester United’s setup with Bruno Fernandes given total freedom as the primary playmaker in the number ten role, leaving two central spots behind him to do the heavy lifting.
If Carlos Baleba completes his move from Brighton, he will naturally step into that first-choice double pivot alongside Youri Tielemans. That instantly relegates Andrey Santos to a rotation role on the substitutes’ bench, capping his path to regular Premier League minutes.
It is a cruel sense of déjà vu for Santos. He left Stamford Bridge precisely because he wanted to play regularly. Moving to Old Trafford was supposed to grant him the starting role he missed in West London, but Baleba’s arrival threatens to mirror the exact same nightmare.