Alan Shearer Says Man Utd Are Taking A “Risk” With £50M Transfer

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BBC pundit Alan Shearer says Man Utd have decided to take a “risk” by splashing out £50m on Andrey Santos.

The Brazilian international was not able to prove his credentials at Chelsea, and Shearer believes the Red Devils are hoping that he can realise his potential at Old Trafford:

“The signing of Andrey Santos by Manchester United is really difficult to judge because, from the player’s point of view, there are not many who are going to get in ahead of Enzo Fernandes and Caicedo in the starting XI.”

“Clearly there’s a talent there, and United have been willing to take that risk. I guess it’s a lot of money for someone that hasn’t played on a regular basis, but I think the ability is there with him and given time and given regular playing time, he could be a good buy for United.”

Santos has it all to prove

We did a deep dive into the 22-year-old’s stats last week, and his numbers did not compare particularly favourably to Mateus Fernandes.

As Shearer points out, though, Santos wasn’t given regular starting opportunities at his previous team, and that clearly affected his performances. United are taking the gamble that, with more game time, he will flourish.

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Man Utd are not putting all of their eggs in one basket

While the move for Santos is full of risk, Director of Football Jason Wilcox has also decided to bring in another midfielder with more proven quality – Youri Tielemans.

There are also reports that United are hoping to land a third new addition in the middle of the park before the transfer window closes, so it is clear that the onus won’t be completely on Santos to fill the huge void left by Casemiro.

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