Paul Merson has questioned Manchester United's decision to sign Andrey Santos from Chelsea for £50 million, expressing confusion over what the Brazilian midfielder brings to Michael Carrick's squad. The former Arsenal and England star shared his doubts during a segment on Sky Sports, where he analysed the Red Devils' summer transfer activity.
Merson's concerns over Santos' role
Speaking to Sky Sports, Merson said: '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.'
Santos made 27 league appearances for Chelsea last season before moving to Old Trafford this summer. The 22-year-old impressed fans during pre-season and is expected to start United's league opener against Hull City on Saturday. Despite this, Merson remains unconvinced, adding: 'I like the Tielemans signing, he's a good footballer. But while you have Tielemans and Fernandes as good footballers, you need more than that to get the ball back.'
United's midfield overhaul and other pundit reactions
Manchester United made bolstering their central midfield a priority this summer following Casemiro's departure at the end of last season. The club had been linked with Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, and Mateus Fernandes, but saw their efforts gazumped by rivals Manchester City and Tottenham. Instead, they turned to Premier League-proven talent, signing Santos from Chelsea for £50 million and Youri Tielemans from Aston Villa after activating the Belgian's £35 million release clause.
Former Red Devils midfielder Paul Ince also shared reservations about the Santos deal, 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.'
Potential further midfield additions
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.'
