Manchester United completed their much-hyped midfield revamp in the summer, bringing in three new stars — Andrey Santos, Youri Tielemans, and Carlos Baleba.
With the Ederson deal falling through, it was the former Chelsea ace who arrived first for an initial £48 million.
The Red Devils were delighted with the deal, and reports from Brazil tipped the 22-year-old to effectively replace the departing Casemiro.
The Brazil international started in impressive fashion during pre-season, with his snappy passing and intelligent positioning catching the eye.
Andrey Santos has struggled
However, everything came apart against Hull in the Premier League opener, and since then, the former Vasco Da Gama ace has failed to set the stage alight.
Andrey Santos looks as though he is struggling to meet the physical demands of the English top flight, and naturally, question marks have been raised about the acquisition.
It has now become clear that INEOS’ top targets included Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, and only after missing out on the duo did United move for the Rio de Janeiro native.
According to The Athletic, people close to Chelsea feel United ended up paying double for the defensive midfielder, another grim reminder of INEOS’ transfer failings this summer.
Chelsea feel United overpaid by a lot for Andrey Santos
Jason Wilcox, the club’s director of football, felt the market was inflated and it was better to sign players who could develop and add to the squad depth.
| Stat | 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| Apps | 10 |
| Minutes | 563 |
| Starts | 7 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 0 |
| Yellow cards | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 |
| Clean sheets | 0 |
“Others have questions about the quality of signings, including Andrey Santos joining for £50m. Some people close to Chelsea regarded the 22-year-old as worth half that price. His mobility in midfield, alongside Youri Tielemans, appears at odds with what United required.
“United would doubtless counter that the market was inflated across the board. They feel they made signings based on the need for depth in midfield, sticking to a budget and selecting players in Santos and Carlos Baleba who can develop.”
That approach has backfired spectacularly, with Baleba picking up an injury and Tielemans struggling for form.
Once again, the onus will fall on Kobbie Mainoo to try and drag the team out of this mess. Hopefully, he can perform like he did in the second half against AS Roma at the weekend. His coach’s future depends on it.
Feature image Alex Pantling via Getty Images
