Manchester United summer signing Andrey Santos made his debut under Michael Carrick and the response to the performance says it all after the Wrexham defeat.
Andrey Santos played the opening 45 minutes at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium after Michael Carrick deployed him straight into the Red Devils’ starting XI on Saturday.
The 22-year-old midfielder had only arrived at Old Trafford earlier this month before training with the rest of the Manchester United first-team players in pre-season.
Santos was Carrick’s first signing as the permanent United manager and the Brazil international could not have had a better opportunity to embed himself into the club.
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Michael Carrick’s pre-match comments perfectly set up the tone for the Man Utd discourse around Andrey Santos at half-time
Andrey Santos had missed out on featuring at this summer’s World Cup, but the former Chelsea star produced a steady performance in the first half on Saturday.
Sam Smith might have put Wrexham 1-0 up against Manchester United at half-time, but Santos deserved his flowers for his overall contributions in the match.
According to Statman Dave on X, formerly known as Twitter, Santos had a strong 93 per cent pass accuracy during the 1-0 defeat at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
The Brazil midfielder had four defensive contributions, two chance creations and six duels contested in the 45 minutes on his United debut during the pre-season tour.
Before kick-off at the weekend, Michael Carrick did the right thing by saying that Santos’ key objective for him was “getting your eye in” against Wrexham.
“He’s settled in really well, he’s a fantastic character,” he told MUTV, as per Manchester United’s official website.
“He’s settled in so quickly and he’s buzzing to be here; you can see that. He’s a fantastic player.
“Again, I’m not expecting anything crazy special today; it’s about getting your eye in. He will do really well for us.
“I’m really looking forward to the progression that he shows for as long as he’s here. But it’s nice to get that first one out of the way.”
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Andrey Santos’ club debut impressed Wes Brown and Man Utd fans, including myself
United fans singled out Santos in the opening 45 minutes — and rightfully so — for a solid performance overall, both on a defensive front and on an attacking display.
I would personally echo the sentiment of different Red Devils supporters after keeping a close eye on Man Utd’s £50m signing over the course of the first half.
Santos settled himself into the midfield and did not look out of place for his first time in a Red Devils shirt — and sometimes that’s all that is needed on a club debut.
Speaking at half-time on MUTV, Wes Brown also added: “[…] But he [Santos] looks fit [and] he looks ready, so, yeah, in a couple more weeks I’m sure we’ll see a lot more of him.
“But it was good to see him in the starting line-up.”
Following Man Utd’s 1-0 defeat to Wrexham, it only feels natural for Santos to now build momentum going into the next match of this summer’s pre-season tour.
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