Andrey Santos has already given credit to Michael Carrick for convincing him to join Man Utd, but the work started during the season, unintentionally!
The Michael Carrick era at Man Utd started off with Andrey Santos as the first signing, and the Brazilian immediately sang praises of Carrick.
With his fierce desire to join only Man Utd, he also passed Ineos’ character test, and his playing style also fits in nicely with Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans.
However, none of this would have happened had Carrick not done what he did last season and accelerated Santos’ desire to leave Chelsea.
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Michael Carrick caused Andrey Santos to ask to leave Chelsea
Santos played more than 1,000 minutes in the Premier League last season, so he was clearly a valued member of the squad.
Furthermore, Chelsea fans were disheartened to see Santos get sold, which speaks more than anything about how good a signing United have made.
As it turns out, this signing would have been extremely unlikely had Carrick not come in, put a rocket behind Man Utd’s season, and leave Chelsea coughing in the smoke.
Had Chelsea qualified for any European competition, there would have been plenty of games to go around for Santos.
He ultimately asked to leave the club this summer because Xabi Alonso wants Enzo Fernandes to stay, and there are no European games.
It’s the position United found themselves in last season, when Ruben Amorim created a bomb squad.
Chelsea have a bloated squad with a lot of untapped value because of their talent-hoarding without a plan, and United have just bought a stressed asset with immense upside.
They have Carrick to thank for it.
Man Utd benefited twice from Carrick’s miraculous run
The footballing world is all interlinked, as this Santos development proves, and United benefited twice from Carrick’s miraculous run.
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A rival was left trailing in the wake of United, and they are now picking off their best young talent as a result.
That is not even considering the financial boost UCL qualification has given the club, especially in the context of Chelsea and Spurs, who won’t be in Europe at all.
None of this would have happened had Carrick not taken over an embattled squad in the middle of the season and staged a remarkable turnaround.
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