Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans are two parts of Manchester United’s midfield rebuild this summer, and they both have one exact quality that was needed to replace Casemiro.
When Manchester United fans learned that Casemiro was departing this summer after his contract expiry, it became quite clear that one concern was the loss of leadership.
Casemiro’s experience and leadership would be almost impossible to replicate, but it was key that United added players with the qualities to become massive influences within the side.
For a while, it looked like United were going to fail this requirement with Ederson and Mateus Fernandes. But now United have signed Andrey Santos, while United are also about to sign Youri Tielemans, both of whom add vital leadership qualities.
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Both Andrey Santos and Youri Tielemans have captaincy credentials
With Casemiro’s exit, United lost a player who was a massive influence off the pitch and someone who is a natural leader. This is a huge factor in teams being successful; you need big characters who will step up and lead.
Well, Ineos have nailed this requirement with Santos and Tielemans.
Santos captained Brazil through all levels of youth football, right up to an U23 level, before also taking the armband multiple times at Strasbourg in Ligue 1 as a loan player aged 19/20.
This shows United that he is a future contender, with every coach he works with loving him, including Michael Carrick hailing Santos.
- “I met with him for about 30 minutes. When the meeting finished, I thought, wow, he’s amazing. I’m really excited to work with him.” – Michael Carrick on Andrey Santos
Tielemans is another leader personality who will be a huge member of the squad.
As a teenager, Tielemans was Anderlecht’s stand-in captain numerous times before eventually being handed the role for a title win aged 20.
He also wore the armband for Leicester City, deputising Jonny Evans, Kasper Schmeichel, and others. He has also been a leader at Villa despite not wearing the band.
Most recently, Tielemans led Belgium as captain at the 2026 World Cup this summer, carrying a pretty poor side to the quarter-finals, scoring twice in the tournament.
Two players with top quality on the pitch, but are also leaders, and two players who could one day earn the armband for United, particularly Santos, given his age.
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Santos and Tielemans will join a strong leadership group at Manchester United
It was vital to bring in players with leadership qualities this summer, with Santos and Tielemans both making up for the loss of Casemiro with their credentials.
But compared to a few years back, they are joining a squad that already has a lot of quality characters and players capable of leading or stepping up in high-pressure scenarios. Neither Tielemans nor Santos will struggle under the weight of playing for United, and both thrive in the big games.
This can also be said for Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, and Diogo Dalot, who are all leaders within the group, but drive standards on the pitch with their consistency and desire to win.
Santos and Tielemans fit into this group perfectly, with Tielemans a likely contender to deputise Fernandes quite quickly as captain. Meanwhile, at 22, Santos is potentially a figure who could succeed Fernandes, with all the hallmarks already of a future captain.
Two brilliant signings, both on and off the pitch.
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