Michael Carrick has described Andrey Santos as a "fantastic player and character" ahead of the Brazilian's pre-season debut for Manchester United. Santos completed a £50million move from Chelsea on Monday, with the deal structured as an initial £48million plus £2million in add-ons, signing a five-year contract at Old Trafford.
Santos' Move to Manchester United
The 22-year-old midfielder was behind Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez in the midfield pecking order at Chelsea. However, his move to Manchester provides an opportunity to advance his career following Casemiro's departure from the club.
Santos will make his pre-season debut against Wrexham in Helsinki on Saturday afternoon. Speaking to MUTV ahead of the match, Carrick was asked how Santos had settled in this week.
Carrick's Praise for Santos
"Yeah, he's settled in really well," Carrick said. "Fantastic character. Settled in so quickly and he's buzzing to be here. You can see that. He's a fantastic player, so again, you know, not expecting anything crazy special today."
"It's just a step, you know, get your eye in, get back on the pitch again, and he'll do really well for us. So I'm really looking forward to the progression that will show the longer he is here, to be honest. But today, the first one, it's nice to get that first one out of the way."
Carrick on Team Selection
Carrick also explained his team selection for the friendly, stating: "I'm just trying to get the understanding between the relationships a little bit and the boys knowing each other and trying to develop that as we go through pre-season."
"I think the senior kind of senior boys that we've had that haven't been away kind of make up a good team, so yeah. It fits quite nicely, you know? Sometimes you overload in certain areas and it fits quite nicely, so I think it makes sense to go with that and then look forward to the younger players' second half."
Santos' arrival is seen as a key addition to United's midfield, with the club looking to build depth ahead of the new season.
