Andrey Santos on meeting Carrick, reveals his goalscoring ambitions | OneFootball

It has been an exciting Monday for Manchester United fans, with the club officially announcing the arrival of Andrey Santos.

With the deal for Ederson not materialising, panic had spread among the fanbase, after they had already witnessed their club miss out on Elliot Anderson, Sandro Tonali, and Mateus Fernandes.

But INEOS wrapped up a deal for the Brazilian in double quick-time, with the Red Devils delighted with the acquisition considering the price they paid for a player with such high potential.

He was at Carrington training ground at the weekend and has already started working with his new team-mates.

Andrey Santos on meeting Carrick

The 22-year-old also met his new head coach, Michael Carrick, and was blown away by the Englishman’s vision for the team.

“I know him very well. He’s a top, top coach,” Santos explained to the club’s media team. “I did a meeting with him, and I remember it because it was around 30 minutes and, when I finished my meeting with him, I said: ‘Wow, he’s amazing.’

“Now, I meet with him [in person] and I’m so excited to work with him.”

The former Vasco da Gama ace knows Matheus Cunha well from his time with the Brazilian national team, while Mason Mount was a Chelsea player back when Andrey Santos joined the Blues.

Andrey Santos on his new team-mates

“I know Matheus Cunha very well, we’ve played together in the national team, I know Mason Mount as well because I remember at the last game between United and Chelsea we spoke,” the United No. 17 added.

And clearly, the midfielder is a fan of United captain Bruno Fernandes as he went on to explain. Not to mention how excited he is to get started with his new team-mates.

“I know Bruno Fernandes, I swapped shirts with Bruno in the last game at Old Trafford, so I’m excited to play with these guys.

“I can learn a lot too from Bruno, so I’m so excited to play with my team-mates, with Bruno, with Matheus, with Kobbie Mainoo, with Amad, with Diogo Dalot, with Harry Maguire, so with everyone.”

Goalscoring aims for the new season

While plenty feel Andrey Santos has what it takes to replace Casemiro, both for United and Brazil, the player himself is keen to get on the scoresheet more often.

“I’m a midfielder but I like to score goals, I like to arrive in the box to score, so to help my team-mates. I think the last season with Strasbourg in 2024/25 was so important for me because I scored 10 times, so it was amazing and I hope, this season, I can be better.”

The stats back up his claim. During his season on loan in Ligue 1, Andrey Santos had emerged as the highest-scoring central midfielder in the league.

He was prolific for his boyhood club as well, while also playing a key role in his national team’s Under-20 CONMEBOL Championship success.

Feature image Eddie Keogh via Getty Images

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