Manchester United’s midfield rebuild has taken them to Chelsea’s Andrey Santos now, and he can replace Casemiro in a way that was thought to be impossible.
After failing to close deals for Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, Man Utd’s efforts to find value in the market have turned them towards Andrey Santos.
The Chelsea midfielder played last season in the Premier League, so he fits the “PL-proven” tag Ineos are so desperate for.
A huge bonus is that he replaces Casemiro in a way Man Utd would have accepted was impossible, but in doing so, there’s a catch.
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Andrey Santos is a midfield goal threat
At just 22, Santos has been capped by Brazil, and did so well at Strasbourg in the 2024/25 season that he managed to escape Chelsea’s loan army.
He returned and played 1,255 minutes at Stamford Bridge last season, but his numbers at Strasbourg is where the gold dust lies.
He was so impressive that he was made captain of the French side despite being a loanee at just 20 years of age.
Santos returned a season that saw him score 10 goals and deliver four assists as a midfielder in 32 games, which are remarkable numbers in a top-five league for a team that is not elite.
Even playing for a Chelsea side in turmoil last season, Santos was in the 99th percentile of midfielders when it came to quality of chances/non-penalty xG.
Like Casemiro, he is a set-piece threat, ranking in the 95th percentile of midfielders on set-piece xG.
Casemiro wasn’t a defensive rock by any means by the end of his time at Old Trafford, but he made up for it by scoring some crucial goals, mainly from set-pieces.
Finding that trait in a defensive midfielder was thought to be impossible, but Santos comes as close to it as anyone in the Premier League in that area.
However, there’s a catch, and that’s that Santos has many levels to go before he’s defensively elite.
Santos is not a natural defensive “destroyer”
As good as Santos is at goalscoring, and his passing is also largely progressive, the Brazilian has to improve a lot defensively.
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He has a tendency to roam from his position and look for spaces near the box, so he’s best suited to playing alongside a destroyer, rather than being one himself.
At least on paper, his ideal partner looks more like Ederson instead of Kobbie Mainoo, which is okay if United add a marquee third midfielder.
However, if Santos is it, then Michael Carrick will have to solve a tactical dilemma because a midfield pivot of Santos and Mainoo will be cut through easily.
Casemiro roamed forward too, but Carrick limited spaces for him to cover in defencee, and he excelled in small spaces.
If United are to take the next step, they need to evolve rather than get an inexperienced version of the Casemiro who was seen scoring goals more than defending his box last year.
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