Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt Question Andrey Santos Signing
Paul Scholes and Nicky Butt have seen enough midfielders walk through the doors at Carrington to know what a Manchester United player looks like. Right now, they’re not convinced Andrey Santos is one of them.
The 22-year-old Brazilian is expected to complete a £50m move to Old Trafford on Friday, with Fabrizio Romano confirming on Thursday that Santos had passed his medical and that all documents between United and Chelsea were signed. The deal will run until June 2031, with an option attached, a long-term commitment to a player who started just 13 league games for a Chelsea side that finished 10th.
For a club trying to rebuild its midfield, that’s a bold bet. Some would say a gamble. Butt leans towards the latter.
Butt: ‘Nothing stands out’
Speaking to Paddy Power, the former United midfielder didn’t hide his doubts.
“If he’s brought in at £25-30 million you could understand it, Man United need to build a squad,” Butt said. “It’s not just about the lads on the pitch, you’ve got to have better players on the bench. But he’s not being signed for £50m to just be sat on the bench, he has to be a starter.”
That’s the crux of it. £50m is starter money at Old Trafford. Starter responsibility. Starter scrutiny.
“I’ve seen him play a few times but nothing stands out that makes you go, ‘Wow, he’s got great ability on the ball or he’s a powerhouse’,” Butt admitted. “It’s come totally out of the blue. It’s either genius by the recruitment team and they’re saying, ‘This lad is going to be the next big thing, we’ll pay the £50m quick and throw him straight in the deep end’.
“But by virtue of him only starting 13 games for Chelsea last year, who finished 10th, it doesn’t scream out a good signing to me.
“I hope I’m wrong, I hope he turns out to be a great player and blows us away.”
The tension is obvious: United say they’re signing a pillar for the future; two of their most decorated midfielders see a raw project with a hefty price tag.
Buying potential, not proof
United’s summer plan in midfield is clear enough. They want at least two, possibly three new faces. Ederson is close to arriving from Atalanta, although doubts remain over his second medical. Targets such as Elliot Anderson, Matheus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali have been admired but not pursued at inflated prices.
Butt’s issue is not with the idea of youth or potential. It’s with timing, and with the level United need right now.
“You’re looking at other players who have gone to other places – Elliot Anderson, Matheus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali – they’ve been proper players in the Premier League and they look like they’ve played in the division for 10 years,” he said. “This lad’s barely played 10 games. It’s a strange one, it’s not one I’m jumping around going, ‘What a signing, I’m really happy with it’.
“We need players in midfield that make us a lot better. I really don’t like having a go at young players or new signings before they go and prove themselves, but it’s one where they’re buying potential over someone that’s done it.”
Then came the stark comparison.
“He could come and blow us away and everyone’s saying, ‘What a signing, he could be the best signing of the last five-ten years at Man United’. But then again he could just end up being another Manuel Ugarte that doesn’t perform at the top level.”
There is a version of this summer where Butt understands the logic. It involves another, far bigger cheque.
“If United shock us all and go out and buy another midfielder for £100million and he’s just one more they’re going to give a bit of time to, then I get it,” he said. “Because we should always buy younger players who have the potential to kick on for the future.
“But if he’s getting thrown straight in the deep end and he’s got to produce at the highest level… United haven’t got time to let people settle in for a year or two, they have to hit the ground running.”
Scholes: ‘Why are Chelsea selling him?’
On The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, Scholes struck a similar tone. Less anger, more unease.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of excitement about it is there? Put it that way,” he said. Then came the question that will be on many supporters’ minds.
“Why are Chelsea selling him, a 22-year-old kid?”
Chelsea have spent the last few years stockpiling young talent, hoarding potential like assets on a balance sheet. To see them cash out on a 22-year-old midfielder so early raises alarms for some. Scholes didn’t dress it up.
“Who else is around now, though, who they can get? [Sandro Tonali has gone [to Tottenham].”
He name-checked Bruno Guimaraes as another example of a missed or unsuitable fit.
“[Bruno] Guimaraes, who is a really good player, I still don’t think he would have suited Manchester United legs-wise, but it looks like he wants to go to Arsenal.”
The market is thin. The options, expensive. That’s the backdrop to Santos’ arrival.
On Adam Wharton at Crystal Palace, Scholes sounded more open.
“I suppose he could be a possibility. I think he’s still a good player and will be available at the right price. They’ve got to do something.”
A club thinking like a trader?
Scholes then turned to the wider strategy – or what he fears might be driving it.
“Ultimately, with Manchester United especially, it will be the fellas at the top of the club who would be deciding [targets],” he said. “And I think they might see some value in this player [Andrey Santos] as a sellable [asset]. But Manchester United buying players as a sell-on value? We need players for now.”
That line cuts to the heart of the debate. United have Champions League football next season. They face three games a week. They cannot afford passengers, or projects who need seasons to grow.
“We’ve got the Champions League next year, we’ve got three games a week. It’s going to be awful without these players,” Scholes warned.
So United step into a season that demands ready-made quality with a £50m midfielder who still has to prove he belongs at this level, never mind at Old Trafford. If Santos settles quickly, the recruitment team will be hailed as brave and brilliant. If he struggles, the questions Scholes and Butt are asking now will only get louder.
For a club that once built midfields around them, the standard is non-negotiable. The real verdict on Andrey Santos won’t come from social media or spreadsheets. It will come under the lights, with three games a week, when United find out whether they’ve signed a cornerstone for the future or paid Champions League money for another question mark.
