-
Feature
- 12 minutes ago
Man Utd eye star midfielder to replace Casemiro as Chelsea consider big decision
News
Manchester United’s shortlist of midfielders with Premier League experience is expanding, according to CaughtOffside.
Andrey Santos is the latest player rumoured to join the Red Devils, as Brighton’s Carlos Baleba and Nottingham Forest duo Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White have also been linked recently.
Santos has appeared in 23 Premier League matches this season, but has only started 10 and has not scored a goal or provided an assist. The 21-year-old is still regarded as a high-potential player, thanks in large part to his dominance on loan to Strasbourg last season.
Current ETV
Andrey Santos
M, DM (C)
Andrey Santos
M, DM (C)
Chelsea
ETV Range
€45.1M - €55.1M
Chelsea will have to determine whether the player is part of their future plans or if he will be sold in an effort to satisfy Profit & Sustainability Rules (PSR) regulations, which saw the likes of Christopher Nkunku, Carney Chukwuemeka, and Renato Veiga leave last summer.
While Santos’s start to life in the Premier League has been slow going, he has shown some ability in the cup competitions, including two assists in each of the League Cup and Champions League.
What would Santos bring to Man Utd?
While Santos is nowhere near the 11 goals he scored in France last season, he has proven himself to be strong defensively and in possession in England.
That is likely because Liam Rosenior — and Enzo Maresca before him — prefer having Cole Palmer or Enzo Fernandez as the attacking midfielder in the 4-2-3-1 the club has used for much of the season.
STATS
Andrey Santos
M, DM (C)
Chelsea
Andrey Santos
M, DM (C)
Chelsea
Santos has completed 89.4% of his pass attempts and won 61.2% of his duels, as well as making 2.5 tackles and 1.6 interceptions per 90 minutes.
In his lone full season in Ligue 1, Santos out-shot his expected goals (xG) by almost double, scoring 10 goals on 5.18 xG, including two goals from outside of the penalty area. He also made 3.5 tackles per 90 minutes, won over two-thirds of his one-v-one duels, and was able to keep possession ticking while also stretching the field with his passing range.
With Casemiro, Man Utd’s third-leading tackler (3.0 per 90 minutes) set to depart and Manuel Ugarte, the club’s leading tackler (4.9 per 90 minutes, with 791 minutes played), seemingly out of favour, Santos could be the ideal player to be the club’s long-term shielder of their back line.
He likely will not come cheap, but the rumoured €60-€70 million price tag could be worth it for a young player with his CV.
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
