Paul Merson has questioned Manchester United's decision to sign Andrey Santos and is not sure what the Brazilian adds to Michael Carrick's midfield.
The Red Devils made it a priority to bolster their central midfield this summer following the departure of Casemiro at the end of last season. United had been linked with the likes of Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes, but saw their efforts gazumped by rivals Manchester City and Tottenham. Instead, the club turned to other Premier League-proven talent, signing Santos from Chelsea for £50million and Tielemans from Aston Villa after activating the Belgian's £35m release clause.
Merson's doubts on Santos
Santos made 27 league appearances for the Blues last season before making the switch to Old Trafford this summer. The 22-year-old impressed fans in pre-season and looks set to start United's league opener against Hull City on Saturday. But despite that, Merson remains unconvinced by the deal, telling Sky Sports: 'I just don't understand the Andrey Santos signing.'
'I might be wrong and Manchester United see something different. But a lot of Chelsea fans were asking what he does. He doesn't break it up, doesn't create chances, doesn't score goals. That's my problem.'
Ince also shares reservations
Former Red Devils midfielder Paul Ince has also shared his reservations about United's decision to sign Santos, telling Oddschecker: 'They've signed the lad Santos from Chelsea for £50m, which is a lot of money for someone like him. I think the jury's still out on that one. To spend £50m on a young central midfield player when you've got [Kobbie] Mainoo coming through the ranks, kind of baffled me a bit.'
United appear poised to add another midfielder before the September 1 deadline, with reports suggesting they are closing in on a deal for Brighton's Carlos Baleba. Speaking on Thursday about United's interest in Baleba, Brighton CEO Paul Barber told talkSPORT: 'It's not something that I can talk about right now. I mean this time of year as you know we're always going to be subject to bids for our players. We are always going to be interested in ones that are sensible and that are going to make sense for us financially and economically. But we always have to balance that with making sure the squad is as strong as it can be to compete in competitions like the one we are in tonight [Europa Conference League]. So nothing to really say on Carlos at the moment other than he's a hugely talented young midfielder who's done really well for us and has attracted interest from some of the biggest clubs in the world now for a couple of years so let's see where we go.'
