Ince Questions £50m Santos Gamble for Manchester United
Paul Ince has never been shy of an opinion, and he isn’t changing now. Looking at Manchester United’s midfield rebuild, the former captain is blunt: £50 million on Andrey Santos leaves him “baffled” and unconvinced.
Ince questions £50m Santos gamble
United have spent the last 18 months tearing up and re-drawing their squad. Last year, the focus was the forward line: Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko arrived for around £200m to jolt a misfiring attack back to life.
This summer, the gaze has shifted behind them. Casemiro’s departure opened a glaring hole at the base of midfield, and United went hunting. Elliot Anderson was admired but slipped away to Manchester City. Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes were tracked, only for both to end up at Tottenham.
So United turned to Chelsea’s Andrey Santos, moving quickly to close a deal worth around £50m for the 22-year-old Brazil international. For Ince, that’s where the alarm bells ring.
“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,” he told Oddschecker.
The issue for him is not just the price. It’s the pathway.
“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.”
United had already cooled on a move for another Brazilian, Ederson of Atalanta, before switching their attention to Youri Tielemans. By triggering a £35m release clause, they pulled the Belgian out of Aston Villa and into Carrick’s new-look engine room.
Ince has no doubts about that signing.
“Obviously Tielemans I think is a fantastic player. More of a Fernandes type of player, but a very good player. I still think they’re trying to do the Ederson deal from Atalanta.”
United now find themselves with a cluster of options for the same area of the pitch. Ince understands why they’ve stocked up, but he’s clear about who should be at the heart of it.
“So, they’ve got a whole load of midfield players in that position which needed to be strengthened. I think he’s [Mainoo] the man who can play that role. I believe that, he’s got a really good head on his shoulders. He’s young, he’s got legs, he can keep hold of the ball.”
Mainoo’s evolution and Carrick’s dilemma
If Santos is the big-money question mark, Mainoo is the homegrown answer Ince keeps circling back to.
He has watched the teenager’s development closely and wants more than tidy possession from him.
“I always thought when Mainoo, when I watched him, he kind of did things easy, got it, passed it. When you play that role, and I’ve played that role for 20 years you’ve got to do more than that.
“You’ve got to get forward, get into the box, and take shots, he never, never really did that.
“He just did the simple things. Towards the back end of the season, he started to tackle, win balls, set things up, get himself in the box, make things happen. And he looks a completely different player.”
That late-season surge has changed the conversation. If Mainoo can repeat that form, Ince believes United’s midfield could revolve around him, not around a £50m import.
“So if he can repeat that form this season, then, you know, I think it’d be great for United. But they’ve got plenty of options in there. So it’ll be interesting to see which way Carrick goes.”
Carrick’s choices in the middle of the park will define his first full campaign in charge. Tielemans brings craft and goals, Santos brings potential, Mainoo brings energy and academy heritage, and the club may yet revive their pursuit of Ederson.
“I like Tielemans, I think Tielemans is more of a [Bruno] Fernandes type of player. I like Ederson, I think Ederson was brilliant. And the fact that United are in the Champions League, they need to start building a stronger squad.”
The pieces are there. How Carrick arranges them is the intrigue.
Rashford at a crossroads
Midfield isn’t the only live debate at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford’s future continues to hover over the summer like a cloud that refuses to clear.
The forward, loaned to Barcelona last season after slipping out of favour under Ruben Amorim, rediscovered some of his old edge in Spain. He scored, he smiled, he looked liberated. Then the question came: would Barcelona take him permanently?
They didn’t. They went for Anthony Gordon at £75m instead. For Rashford, that decision stung.
“I kind of feel for Rashford. I really do because I think he’s a fantastic player,” Ince said.
“He can play off the left, he can play off the right. I’m not sure if many people watched him last year playing for Barcelona, he was scoring goals, he was enjoying himself, and he looked a completely, completely different player.
“And then when you think are they [Barcelona] going to take him, are they going to take the deal? And then to go and buy Gordon for 75 million. It absolutely kills him.”
Rashford still flashed his quality at the World Cup, cutting in from the left to score a trademark goal into the bottom corner. The talent has never been the issue. The context has.
“Then you see little bits in the World Cup, gets his great goal coming off the left, bottom hand corner. So he’s got that magic, he’s got that talent.”
For Ince, this is where Carrick’s man-management becomes crucial.
“And I think Carrick can get the best out of him. I really, really do. I think if you just put your arm around Rashford, and I think at the moment he’s a bit unsure of his future. He doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going.
“If Carrick just puts his arm around him and says, ‘Yeah, listen, you know, I want you at the club, I need you at the club. This is where you’re going to play. This is what you’re going to do.’ Then I believe you’re going to see a very, very good Rashford for Manchester United.
“So, fingers crossed that’s the case. But it, there’s one thing for sure, he is a very, very talented player and if he’s happy, he’ll perform for you.”
Carrick is understood to be open to giving Rashford the chance to revive his United career. The tools are there; the question is whether the environment can finally fit the player.
Pre-season clues before the real test
United’s pre-season has already offered a glimpse of the growing pains to come. A 1-0 defeat to Wrexham in Helsinki was a jolt, the kind of early setback that sharpens focus more than it damages confidence.
The response was emphatic. A 5-0 dismantling of Rosenborg reset the mood and hinted at the attacking firepower Carrick now has at his disposal.
Next comes a step up in class: Atletico Madrid in Stockholm this weekend, a familiar Champions League-level test of structure and resilience. After that, a trio of fixtures that read like a mini European tour – Paris Saint-Germain, Leeds United and AC Milan – will complete the warm-up.
All of it builds towards August 22, away to newly promoted Hull City, when the talking stops and Carrick’s choices are laid bare.
Will £50m Santos justify the gamble? Will Mainoo be trusted to run the show? Can Rashford feel wanted enough to ignite again?
The answers won’t come in soundbites or transfer fees. They’ll come on the pitch, in a season that already feels like a referendum on United’s new direction.
