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Manchester United newcomer Andrey Santos has already made a major impression on the coaching staff after just two weeks at Old Trafford, according to an inside source.<\/p>\n
Midfield Maestro<\/h5>\n
Having missed out on primary targets such as Elliot Anderson and Mateus Fernandes, Manchester United reignited their pursuit of Santos after being rebuffed by Chelsea last summer. <\/p>\n
While negotiating Alejandro Garnacho\u2019s move to Stamford Bridge, INEOS had sought to include the 22-year-old Brazilian as part of the deal.<\/p>\n
At that stage, Chelsea were adamant their \u201cmagnificent\u201d midfielder was not for sale. Yet, 12 months later, this stance had softened as Santos was actively pushing to leave in search of more first-team opportunities, having struggled to break through ahead of the \u00a3100 million-plus pairing of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez.<\/p>\n
Sensing an opportunity to bank some much-needed profit on their \u00a318 million investment in 2023, Chelsea signalled a willingness to negotiate with United, who had maintained contact with Santos\u2019 camp.<\/p>\n
Christopher Vivell, the recruitment director at Old Trafford who previously held a similar position in west London when the Rio de Janeiro native was signed from Vasco da Gama, is believed to have been influential in the pursuit.<\/p>\n
On 14 July, just over two weeks after Fernandes had rejected United in favour of Tottenham Hotspur, a \u00a350 million deal for Santos was officially announced. This was followed by the \u00a335 million capture of Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa on the same day, meaning both were signed for the same price Spurs paid West Ham United for Fernandes.<\/p>\n
Strong Start<\/h5>\n
Following Santos\u2019 debut in pre-season against Wrexham, Michael Carrick was full of praise. The 45-year-old coach praised how the Brazilian \u201cconnected really well\u201d with Mason Mount, while his new teammate hailed him as \u201cbrilliant\u201d.<\/p>\n
This has been backed up by veteran centre-back Harry Maguire, who described Santos as a \u201creally nice person\u201d, and claimed he has already wowed in training and on the pitch.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve just got to try and make him feel comfortable at the moment. But yeah, he\u2019s come in, he\u2019s settled in really well. He\u2019s been brilliant in training. I thought he was brilliant in the game as well,\u201d the 33-year-old Englishman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd yeah, he\u2019s always smiling, he\u2019s always laughing and joking around. But yeah, like I said, he\u2019s still really young, and he\u2019s going to have a big part to play in this club\u2019s future.\u201d<\/p>\n
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