Andrey Santos was pictured in Man Utd training for the first time but it was more notable what Michael Carrick was doing with the squad.
Since arriving from Chelsea in a deal worth an initial £48m, Andrey Santos was pictured in Man Utd training for the first time.
The Brazilian looked at ease and was put through the paces in the gym and with the ball under the watchful eye of Michael Carrick.
In a batch with a lot of exciting youngsters, here are the three things we noticed, including a change in Carrick’s vision for the club.
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1- Michael Carrick taking a hands-on coaching role
The video United posted on their YouTube channel was promoted as the first public training for Santos, but the bigger thing to notice was Carrick’s role.
The Man Utd manager has often been unfairly accused of lacking a hands-on approach to coaching, but he was doing exactly that.
He was on the pitch with the players and could be seen clearly directing traffic, telling players to move to very specific positions in each phase.
This type of training with the ball is called tactical periodisation, a technique Jose Mourinho pioneered at FC Porto.
The shades of that influence are clear to see. Expect to see Carrick really take a hands-on role with coaching this season as he has time on his hands.
That brings us to our next point.
2- Man Utd’s style of play will change
It might look like a leap to say this after watching five minutes of footage, but it seemed to confirm what Man Utd fans already thought.
People said last season that Carrick’s transition-heavy approach has a ceiling, which is true, but what if Carrick didn’t even want to play that way?
He simply adapted to get quick results last season, which he did, because anyone who saw his Middlesbrough side at their best knows that’s not how Carrick sees football.
He wants dominance of territory, quick interplays in closed spaces with plenty of off-the-ball movement.
He didn’t have the time or personnel to coach such an approach in a whirlwind last season, but it was clear to see in the latest training footage.
Every player was going through a series of one-touch pass-and-move drills, which challenged their close control and the ability to receive and pass the ball under pressure.
This version will play closer to the opponent’s goal instead of relying on them to make a mistake. This brings us to our final point.
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3 – Youri Tielemans’ role is clear
When the team plays closer to the goal and prefers to create opportunities through possession instead of transitions, line-breaking passes are needed.
Santos is an expert at them when the pass is played on the ground, Kobbie Mainoo breaks lines with his dribbles, so United needed someone who can do so aerially.
After watching Santos in action in training, doing the one-touch pass-and-move drills, it was clear that Youri Tielemans will be in charge of playing over the opposition press.
In Bryan Mbeumo, Matheus Cunha, and Benjamin Sesko, United have runners in the forward line who can thrive in space behind the line.
Tielemans will bring that long-passing acumen to add the only remaining skill set with the ball in attack. A defensive-minded midfielder is still needed, but with Santos, Tielemans, and Mainoo, United have the passing and carrying sorted.
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