Manchester United securing third place within the Premier League final season was an enormous achievement for Michael Carrick and his employees, particularly after their troubles earlier within the season.
Such a end noticed the Pink Devils qualify for the Champions League as soon as once more, giving them the chance to compete recurrently with Europe’s elite.
There was additionally an enormous inflow of cash into the membership, making it a extra enticing proposition for gamers who might be focused by INEOS in the course of the switch window.
One participant has appeared fascinated by the membership’s fast rise and success underneath Carrick’s steering in current months.
How Santos compares to different midfielders within the Premier League
In current days, United are mentioned to have agreed a £50m cope with fellow Premier League membership Chelsea for midfielder Andrej Santos.
The Brazil worldwide has additionally agreed private phrases with Carrick’s males, however should endure a medical earlier than the deal will be introduced and accomplished.
The 22-year-old solely began 13 league video games in England’s high flight final season, however how may he evaluate to different gamers in his division?
Santos accomplished 90% of the passes he tried at Stamford Bridge, rating within the high 12% of different midfielders final season.
His greater influence in England’s high flight was with out the ball, as evidenced by his 2.7 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per 90 in 2025/26.
In each of the aforementioned tallies, he ranks within the high 25% of all gamers within the Premier League, demonstrating his nice means to disrupt opponents’ progress.
Such figures are much more spectacular contemplating that he has solely had restricted time to carry out nicely at Stamford Bridge over the previous few months.
Manchester United have already offered Santos upgrades
United have been residence to numerous high midfield skills through the years, lots of whom will likely be of use to present supervisor Carrick.
Nonetheless, the Pink Devils’ hierarchy now must fill that void and uncover the subsequent era of superstars who can play a central function within the group within the 2026/27 season.
Nonetheless, the division could have already missed a trick with one participant, resulting in the untimely launch of academy product James Garner.
The 25-year-old spent his complete youth profession in Manchester however solely made seven senior appearances for his boyhood membership throughout all competitions.
After clinching promotion with Nottingham Forest for the 2021-22 season, he was tipped by many to battle for the highest flight, however the group determined to money in on his accomplishments as an alternative.
Garner will be a part of fellow Premier League facet Everton in the summertime of 2022 for simply £9m, however the deal seems to have been a giant mistake for everybody concerned.
Since then, the midfielder has developed into top-of-the-line box-to-box operators within the division, and his outcomes final season underline how extremely he ranks in comparison with the gamers round him.
James Garner – PL statistics (2025/26) | |
|---|---|
Statistics (each 90) | tally |
video games performed | 38 |
objectives and assists | 9 |
Cross accuracy | 87% |
A chance has arisen | 1.5 |
dribbling success | 53% |
gained a duel | 62% |
The deal with I made | 3.2 |
Variety of intercepts | 1.6 |
Described as “invaluable” by analyst Dougie Critchley, Garner created 0.4 huge probabilities in 90 video games and went on to rank within the high 15% of all England midfielders.
Such numbers spotlight his nice means to create carnage within the attacking areas of the group in entrance of him. That is one thing the present group wants at a deep place.
Even with out the ball, the previous United star was extraordinarily dominant final season, as evidenced by his 61% floor duel win fee and three.2 tackles per 90. There is a cause England supervisor Thomas Tuchel praised him as a “mini (Federico) Valverde” and journalist Rob Fleming described him as “top-of-the-line gamers within the Premier League”.
Each of the aforementioned numbers rank him within the high 10% of all gamers within the Premier League, however Santos couldn’t come near such numbers throughout his 2025/26 season.
The necessity for brand spanking new ball-winning choices will likely be essential at Previous Trafford this summer season, however the membership may have saved thousands and thousands of kilos in the event that they stored Garner.
However he might want to present full confidence in Santos if he’s to supply the products underneath Carrick within the subsequent marketing campaign, which is at all times going to be the case on the Theater of Goals.
