Former midfielder turned pundit Paul Merson has slammed Manchester United for signing Andrey Santos from Chelsea last summer.
Following Casemiro’s departure and Manuel Ugarte’s serious knee injury, the Red Devils prioritised revamping the midfield department ahead of this season.
Initially, they were linked with expensive options like Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Aurelien Tchouameni. However, Michael Carrick’s side ultimately opted to buy Santos, Youri Tielemans and Carlos Baleba.
But Man Utd have endured a dire start this season, languishing 17th in the Premier League table with seven points from nine games. They are just above the relegation zone on goal difference and have won only one league game thus far.
Now, on Sky Sports, Merson questions (via Metro) United’s decision to sign Santos by spending around £50m, as he feels the Brazilian isn’t good enough to play for an elite club like Man Utd.
Moreover, Merson says that Tielemans is a good player but lacks athleticism. So, he needs quick players around him to flourish, but Man Utd don’t have those types of players.
Merson said:
“The midfield they bought – I’d love to see what they saw paying £50m for Andre Santos. Tell me what you saw that I didn’t when I was watching him every week at Chelsea. Youri Tielemans, he’s a good player but there’s no legs around him in the team. He had legs around him when he was playing at Villa.”
Man Utd slammed for signing Santos
Santos is a right-footed deep-lying playmaker by trait but is also comfortable in the box-to-box role. He can play threading passes between the lines and is efficient in defensive contributions.
However, he lacks athleticism and has struggled to flourish in his career under Carrick thus far this season. Santos even failed to find regular game time at Chelsea.
Nevertheless, the 22-year-old is still a young player and could turn out to be a shrewd acquisition for Man Utd in the future, as he is a talented midfielder.
On the other hand, Baleba has also displayed inconsistent performances thus far this season. He came into the spotlight having displayed impressive performances for Brighton and Hove Albion a couple of years ago but struggled last campaign.
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