Manchester United begin pre-season on Saturday with a friendly against Wrexham, and this could see Andrey Santos start his career at the club, alongside a Carrington product.
Monday saw Andrey Santos complete his Manchester United transfer and enter training straight away, ahead of a potential unofficial debut against Wrexham on Saturday.
Santos wasn’t involved in the World Cup, unlike new signing Youri Tielemans, and therefore, he will be eligible to play immediately in midfield. But the question is who starts next to him with Manuel Ugarte injured and Kobbie Mainoo still at the World Cup with England.
Mason Mount is considered a midfield option, but he could start in the number 10 position, or Michael Carrick may use a three-man midfield. Either way, Carrington will be needed to provide options for Carrick.
After seeing who is in pre-season training this week, here are the three options to partner with Santos.
IF Andrey Santos is available to play Wrexham, who would you like to see him start alongside out of the available options?
Andrey Santos is training already!
Dan Gore
Often forgotten when predicting which young midfielders could take up a role within the senior Manchester United squad, Dan Gore will believe he can catch Carrick’s eye.
Gore is fresh off a brilliant loan at Rotherham in which he was named the clubs best player, meaning he is due for a step up this coming campaign, whether that be at United or elsewhere.
Reports indicated that Gore was to get a chance under Carrick during pre-season and he has now been spotted in training this week.
Gore is an aggressive player who is also excellent on the ball and capable of running a game with his passing.
He suits Carrick’s style and alongside Santos the pair could actually be a pretty decent duo.
Which youngster are you MOST excited to watch during pre-season?
With the World Cup this summer, pre-season will have plenty of academy involvement🔮
Jacob Devaney
Another youngster spotted at Carrington has been Jacob Devaney who is back from his impressive loan at St Mirren with a first-team spot in his sights.
More-so than any other midfield prospect at the club, Devaney proved he is ready during his loan spell, looking completely at home against the likes of Celtic and Hearts.
Devaney is arguably the best placed to succeed next season within Carrick’s side, bringing athleticism, power, running and aggression to the team not to mention his leadership and quality on the ball.
In relation to Saturday against Wrexham, Devaney might be the most likely to play alongside Santos given he should be closest to knocking on the door of Carrick’s side this summer and to be in the team for the 2026/27 campaign.
Hopefully he gets a chance to show what he is all about, a player that we are very high on ahead of this upcoming season, expecting big things.
Jim Thwaites
The third midfield youngster in training that we think could be a potential starter against Wrexham is Jim Thwaites, who at 18 is one of the most exciting talents at the club with a midfield style resembling Pedri.
In terms of his passing, Thwaites is arguably the best at the club bar Youri Tielemans already, with his ball striking and set piece ability over big qualities that he has.
Thwaites could be perfect next to the ball winning Santos, with both very press resistant and capable of progressing play with ease, but where Thwaites might struggle physically in senior football right now, Santos can help.
That being said, Thwaites looks more ready for senior football having grown and bulked up a little in the past year.
All three midfielders bring different qualities, but compared with what United have signed this summer, Thwaites might see himself as the most unique talent available to Carrick to bring something different to the midfield.
It will be interesting to see how much of a chance Thwaites gets this summer, as he could be brilliant for United if his development is handled correctly, luckily he has the best role model possible in Carrick to learn from.
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