Manchester United have reportedly agreed a deal to sign Andrey Santos from Chelsea for around £50million.
The Red Devils’ primary aim this summer is the rebuild their midfield unit around Kobbie Mainoo.
Casemiro has left the club at the end of his contract, so Michael Carrick is now looking to improve his midfield options ahead of next season.
Ineos have already started the rebuild in the move for Santos. Another deal for Atalanta midfielder Ederson has halted for the time being.
But what could Santos bring to Man Utd’s midfield?
Andrey Santos analysis:
Build up specialist qualities
Santos excels in the buildup phase. Not just because of his passing ability, but also due to his understanding.
The young Brazilian constantly looks to orchestrate in the buildup, directing play and telling his teammates where to go.
As a key part of that first phase, Santos is then constantly attunted to third-man combinations. He can time his movements perfect to provide bounce passes out of pressure.
Santos is always scanning and moving to provide an option for his teammate. That can be through a bounce pass out of pressure, or to reset and slow things down.
When it comes to his progressive passing, Santos has excellent disguise/deception on his passes, using a variety of techniques to execute the action.
While Santos is forward-thinking and constantly scanning to find those progressive options behind the press, he also has a good understanding of tempo control and risk vs reward.
Due to his scanning and movement to open up passing lanes, Santos is also brilliant at progressing with one or two touches.
A similar skill to Adam Wharton, who can play first time passes between the lines, or use his first touch to bait pressure before punching it through with his second touch.
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No.6 tendencies
Plenty of Man Utd fans were dreaming of Aurelien Tchouameni as their new No.6 signing. But Santos shows up on plenty of radar graphs as a cheaper alternative, especially when it comes to the defensive metrics.
In the past, Santos has called himself a No.5 (Brazil’s equivalent to a No.6). And a few of his defensive habits show this.
Despite not being the most athletically or physically gifted, Santos is good at screening his defensive unit, blocking passing lanes and space very well.
His anticipation is good, latching onto second balls in his close vicinity and looking to put out fires before they can start.
Santos also applies his footballing brain well defensively, plugging gaps between the full-back and centre-back gate and tracking runners effectively.
His biggest weakness would be defending those larger spaces, particularly in transition, which is somewhere Tchouameni does shine.
Mainoo partner?
Santos would be a really nice partner for Mainoo in the buildup phase specifically, due to their complementary skill sets.
As previously mentioned, Santos excels in the buildup, organising and instructing in the first phase, looking to dictate the tempo and find ways of progressing play.
Mainoo is more of a carrier, looking to find little pockets of space to combine with small space play or find solutions to access dangerous zones through his dribbling.
This is shown in the data, as Santos averages more pass attempts, completes more passes and more passes in his own half.
Meanwhile, Mainoo averages more touches overall, more take-ons attempts and more chances created.
But aside from the primary instincts of both players working well together, Santos is also a great partner to bring the best out of Mainoo.
Santos’ attunement to on-two combinations, willingness to stay fixed to the centre to always provide a bounce pass option, it would allow Mainoo to use him as a bounce board and reference point.
The biggest question mark would be whether this midfield duo is physically imposing enough against the top-tier outfits, or whether they would be physically overrun in midfield.
Tactical fit?
Santos would suit Carrick’s tactical ideas, looking to build out from the back, accelerating play and arriving in a 3-2-5 shape.
As previously mentioned, Santos has the ability to play alongside Mainoo in certain games. But the two could also interchange alongside another midfield signing.
Off the ball, Carrick has deployed a fairly passive 4-4-2 in his time at Man Utd so far, which Santos suits due to his screening qualities.
One of the best changes Carrick made since arriving at Man Utd was the freedom and connectivity he gave the team.
Players wanted to get on the ball, connect passes, constantly move to recieve. This is something that suits Santos perfectly.
It will be interesting to see if they sign another more physically imposing number six in this window, but either way, Santos makes a lot of sense as a midfield signing for Carrick’s Man Utd.