Paul Ince said what Manchester United don’t want to admit about Andrey Santos

Manchester United wanted to rebuild their midfield this past summer transfer window, so they went ahead and signed two of the best young players in Carlos Baleba of Brighton and then Andrey Santos from Chelsea.

While Baleba was once a top Premier League midfielder before a bad 2025/26 season with the Seagulls, Santos is only proven in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg and was not able to successfully transition to Chelsea, leading the Blues to view him as expendable for money.

Santos could still come good, but, so far, Manchester United aren’t getting anything out of their midfield, other than what Kobbie Mainoo is providing in bouncing back under Michael Carrick.

Former Manchester United star Paul Ince has pointed this out, and he is wondering why Man United signed Santos instead of trusting Mainoo and adding a more experienced player for depth who can help the Red Devils finish in the top five now.

Ince told the Manchester Evening News, “They’ve tried to change the midfield. I didn’t understand why they spent £50million on Andrey Santos from Chelsea. There was no need to do that. Yes, he’s a young player, but you’ve got Kobbie Mainoo there. Mainoo’s around the same age, the same type of player. Mainoo’s the one who’s got to be thrust into United’s team, game in, game out, so he can progress, grow and develop. They didn’t need to go and spend that money, they could have spent it on something else.”

Santos was an amazing player for Strabsourg and is still young, so it’s not fair to write him off so early. But when Ince puts it that way that Man United could have spent somewhere else, it’s hard not to think he’s right when looking at how they are playing in 12th place right now.

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