When Ramon Menezes took interim charge of Brazil\u2019s senior team in 2023, he had no doubt that Andrey Santos was ready for a bigger stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was already playing and behaving like an elite professional, regardless of his age,\u201d Menezes says, reflecting on his decision to hand a senior debut to an 18-year-old Santos \u2014 who was captain of the under-20 national side Menezes coached. \u201cHe was the (under-20) team\u2019s linchpin.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was absolutely convinced that the weight of the yellow shirt would not intimidate him.\u201d<\/p>\n
After moving on from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama to stints with Nottingham Forest, Strasbourg, and Chelsea, Santos is now carrying the weight of a famous red shirt. In July, the 22-year-old signed for Manchester United in a deal worth up to \u00a350million<\/a> after only one season at Stamford Bridge, and having played less than 1,300 Premier League minutes.<\/p>\n It was a surprise move, and an understated one in this summer\u2019s midfield market. United were previously interested in Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, who ended up joining Manchester City for \u00a3116m and Tottenham Hotspur for \u00a385m respectively. Chelsea set an asking price of \u00a3120m for Santos\u2019 former team-mate Enzo Fernandez. Bruno Guimaraes joined champions Arsenal from Newcastle United for \u00a375m.<\/p>\n Casemiro has departed as a free agent, Manuel Ugarte may have been sold and is now injured, and Toby Collyer is in line for either a permanent or loan exit. As The Athletic<\/em>\u2019s David Ornstein revealed on Wednesday<\/a>, United are closing in on the signing of Brighton & Hove Albion\u2019s Carlos Baleba, who Santos may be competing against for minutes at the base of midfield.<\/p>\n Baleba\u2019s higher price tag, and his greater Premier League experience compared to Santos, would seem to line him up as first-choice. However, Baleba is currently recovering from an ankle ligament injury (which is not expected to keep him out long-term) whereas Santos has had most of the summer to bed into the squad. He looks almost certain to start United\u2019s season opener at Hull City on Saturday, and a return to the Champions League presents the opportunity for the two to compete properly for the starting berth given a higher volume of fixtures.<\/p>\n After a stop-start Premier League career so far, is Santos ready for a leading role?<\/p>\n \u201cI saw the potential for him to move to the Premier League or another European league,\u201d says Igor Henriques Guerra, who coached Santos at Vasco da Gama in 2021 and 2022 in the club\u2019s under-17 and under-20 teams. \u201cThere was a lot going for him. Firstly, his mentality \u2014 his mindset was that of a professional, of always wanting to improve and wanting to give his all on the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of leadership, he was always an exemplary player. He really was a role model. He was a player who guided his team-mates on the pitch.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Andrey Santos celebrates scoring for Chelsea against Spurs in May this year (Shaun Botterill\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Guerra describes Santos as \u201ccheerful\u201d, \u201ca player who is always on good terms with everyone\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHere in Brazil we say \u201czoar<\/em>\u201d or \u201ctirar sarro<\/em>\u201d \u2014 to joke around or to poke fun at one another. So he always used to keep the atmosphere cheerful and light-hearted, but when it came to work, he was always giving his all and pushing for more every training session.\u201d<\/p>\n Menezes did not work with Santos directly at Vasco da Gama (where he used to play, and returned as an assistant coach and head coach), but saw him in the youth ranks and, once put in charge of the Brazil under-20 team, included Santos from his first squad selection.<\/p>\n \u201cRight from the very first training camp, he was given the captain\u2019s armband, thanks to the example he set in terms of technical and tactical dedication,\u201d Menezes tells The Athletic<\/em> over messages. \u201cHe has excellent control of the ball, impressive tactical maturity combined with a natural leadership spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n In 2021, aged 16, Santos became the youngest player to make his senior debut for Vasco in the 21st century (a record later broken by Bournemouth\u2019s Rayan<\/a>).<\/p>\n \u201cHe made our work as coaches easy,\u201d Guerra says. \u201cHe understood the game so well \u2014 the little details we highlighted, the tactics we discussed, the things we explained \u2014 that whenever a team-mate was doing something that didn\u2019t meet the required standards, he\u2019d offer guidance himself.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Andrey Santos in action for Brazil U20s in 2023 (Luis Robayo\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n It tallies with Michael Carrick\u2019s assessment of the 22-year-old in conversation with journalists last week. \u201cAndrey, for such a young man to come in the way he\u2019s come in, his character, his personality is a dream,\u201d Carrick said. \u201cHe\u2019s so positive, so mature, so switched on; he wants to learn. He comes in straight away and he\u2019s trying to help other players and communicate in games.\u201d<\/p>\n Santos\u2019 football intelligence, Guerra says, translated on the pitch. \u201cHe\u2019s so good at reading the game, so I see that as his main strength; how well he manages to take in information and put it into practice.<\/p>\n \u201cHe understood what we were asking of him, and he often carried it out with great ease. He\u2019s a player who\u2019s very good at mapping out his surroundings. He\u2019s constantly turning his head from side to side, constantly scanning.<\/p>\n \u201cSo he\u2019s very good at deciding what to do, where to position himself and what to do the moment the ball comes his way. A lot of the time he has already decided what he\u2019s going to do by the time the ball arrives.<\/p>\n \u201cThat allows him to take a very good first touch, immediately turning away from the opponent. He manages to find good through balls; he\u2019s very positive in playing forward passes through the lines, then he can receive it again straight away and position himself to combine with one-twos.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAndrey has an impressive ability to play the ball out from the back,\u201d Menezes adds, \u201cwith vertical passes that break through the opposition\u2019s lines with excellent precision; he shows intelligence in receiving the ball in dangerous areas, and when he wins the ball back, he initiates the attacking transition by dribbling or playing quick, vertical passes.\u201d<\/p>\n Both coaches also highlight how he can contribute in the final third. At the under-20 South American Championship in February 2023, shortly after signing for Chelsea, Santos captained Brazil to the title. He finished as joint top scorer in the competition with six goals, alongside team-mate Vitor Roque.<\/p>\n After initially playing as a defensive midfielder at Vasco, Guerra says, \u201cWe came to understand his ability, his quality and his capacity to help the team further up the pitch. We started encouraging Andrey to try to crash the box.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a midfielder who only distributed the ball and looked to break through the opposition defence from deep, which was excellent for the team, but we noticed that he wasn\u2019t scoring many goals or making late runs into the area, so we started encouraging him to do just that.<\/p>\n \u201cHe started racking up more assists and scoring more goals from the base of midfield. He managed to carry that form into the professional game, as was the case at Vasco, before moving straight on to Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n Santos played an instrumental role in Vasco\u2019s promotion to the Brazilian top flight in the 2022 season, starting 33 of their 38 games and scoring eight goals. He signed for Chelsea in January 2023, but it took time for his European career to take shape.<\/p>\n He was loaned first back to Vasco, and then to Nottingham Forest for the 2023-24 season \u2014 but was recalled in January after appearing only twice. It was a loan to Chelsea\u2019s fellow BlueCo-owned club Strasbourg that unlocked him. Santos became a constant starter, bolstering his box-crashing reputation with 10 league goals in 2024-25, and then-manager Liam Rosenior entrusted him with the captaincy on occasion.<\/p>\n \n Andrey Santos had an unremarkable loan spell at Nottingham Forest in 2023-24 (Nathan Stirk\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Eighteen months after his initial signing, Santos was fully integrated with Chelsea\u2019s first-team squad from the Club World Cup in 2025. Chelsea\u2019s season was chaotic; Santos\u2019, possibly as a result, fluctuated.<\/p>\n In the summer, Enzo Maresca said he preferred Santos in a more attacking than defensive role due to the physical demands of the Premier League. However, he only started four Premier League matches before Maresca\u2019s departure in January. Despite Chelsea\u2019s awful second half of the season, it was when reunited with Liam Rosenior and placed in a deeper role, often alongside Moises Caicedo, that he enjoyed significantly more minutes and improved performances.<\/p>\n Guerra and Menezes agree on Santos\u2019 adaptability, which they attribute to his intelligence and understanding of the game \u2014 but differ on his best role.<\/p>\n \u201cRight now, I\u2019d prefer to use him as a No 8,\u201d Guerra says. \u201cHe\u2019s a player who contributes both in defence and attack, rather than as a No 6, where he\u2019d be too static.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAndrey has the potential to establish himself among the elite of football and become a key player for the Brazilian national team,\u201d Menezes says. \u201cHowever, for that to happen, I think his position needs to be clarified. I see Andrey as a defensive midfielder.\u201d<\/p>\n Competing with Caicedo and Reece James, both of whom recently signed new long-term deals at Chelsea, could have complicated Santos\u2019 path to a regular starting role. He moved to Old Trafford as their first midfield signing of a much-touted rebuild, with the holding midfield position up for grabs after Casemiro\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n That is where he has played in United\u2019s six pre-season friendlies, with Youri Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo, and, when available, Mason Mount competing for a more advanced No 8-style role. Baleba\u2019s signing would provide competition, but considering United\u2019s heavy fixture schedule and the fact the Cameroon international will not be available from the off, Santos has ample opportunity to make his case for a starting spot.<\/p>\n Is he ready?<\/p>\n \n Andrey Santos has impressed for United during pre-season (Michael Campanella\/Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cHe must always remain alert and continue to improve in certain areas,\u201d Menezes says. \u201cIn England, the time to think and react to a dribble or a counter-attack is minimal. You must always think on your feet.\u201d<\/p>\n There were a handful of costly moments in a Chelsea shirt. On his first league start against Brighton & Hove Albion in September, Santos\u2019 heavy touch allowed two attackers through on goal, panicking Trevoh Chalobah into a last-man challenge that saw him sent off. He also seemingly failed to track Zian Flemming\u2019s run for Burnley\u2019s equaliser from a corner at Stamford Bridge in February. These sort of errors, which it should be said were infrequent, ought to lessen as he gains further experience.<\/p>\n There are other areas where Santos can round out his game. \u201cAs a defensive midfielder, he needs to balance his attacking instincts and improve his long passing,\u201d Menezes says. Guerra recalls longer-range passing as an area for development during his time with Santos, too, as well as finishing, particularly from outside the box.<\/p>\n \u201cI did see some limitations with his physical condition,\u201d Guerra adds. \u201cIt\u2019s something he improved on and overcame, but not here in Brazil. It took a while.\u201d<\/p>\n Santos is not as decorated as Casemiro when he arrived at Old Trafford, nor as experienced as fellow summer signings Tielemans or, should he join, Baleba. He will need patience at times, and having Baleba as another option ought to benefit United in a season with European football. But Guerra and Menezes believe he deserves Carrick\u2019s confidence.<\/p>\n \u201cA player like Andrey Santos responds very well when given responsibility,\u201d Menezes says. \u201cGiving him a say in ball distribution and tactical organisation boosts his confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEvery player needs to feel confidence from their manager,\u201d Guerra says. \u201cWhen a player sees that the coach has confidence in them, when they are not so concerned about making a mistake but are thinking about the positive contributions they can make to the team, I see that as the first key to any player\u2019s performance. So I want that for Andrey.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe that United can now get the best out of Andrey by getting him more involved in play. He\u2019s a player who reads the game well; he positions himself very well in open spaces, so if the team looks to find Andrey in those pockets they\u2019ll be able to create real problems for the opposition.\u201d<\/p>\n Santos is not the marquee signing many United fans envisaged. But the message from two of those who have coached him is clear: trust him.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Mais Not\u00edcias<\/a><\/p>\n Home Page – In\u00edcio<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/08\/18143940\/GettyImages-1258333623-scaled.jpg\")
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