The Devil's DNA

Man United's new central midfield #MUFC 📊 @footovision

(1/2) Andrey Santos – Manchester United's New £50m Signing (2/2) How Carrick’s System Unlocks Andrey Santos Actions Over Control - A Thread🧵 22 | Box-to-Box Midfilder (#8)| Brazil 🇧🇷 | €40.00m Profile Andrey Santos should not be viewed as a pure holding midfielder. His data points more toward an action-heavy #8: a midfielder whose value comes through duels, anticipation, vertical connections, defensive activity and late box arrivals rather than controlling tempo as a lone #6. His Chelsea heatmap supports this interpretation, with Santos operating clearly as a left-sided central midfielder, shuttling between both boxes while also moving laterally to support possession. That distinction matters because Santos can do a job in a pivot, but his best work comes through actions rather than control. He is more valuable when allowed to step forward, compete, anticipate loose passes, connect play vertically and arrive late into the box. Asking him to sit, screen and dictate as a FIXED #6 reduces too much of what makes him interesting. Ligue 1 vs Premier League: Freedom vs Security His Strasbourg season showed the full version of the profile. Across 32 Ligue 1 starts, Santos produced 10 goals and 3 assists, with a 7.75 FotMob rating and 7.44 SofaScore rating. Defensively, he ranked in the 86th percentile for defensive contributions, 91st for tackles, 88th for duels won and 96th for duel win rate among Ligue 1 CMs/DMs. That was the most expressive Santos sample: ball-winning, physical dominance, high duel volume, box-crashing and genuine shooting output. The trade-off was risk. Compared to his Premier League season, the Strasbourg version attempted more long passes, dribbled more, created more chances, won more recoveries, got fouled more, took more shots and was dispossessed more often. At Chelsea, Santos became cleaner but less expansive. In the Premier League, he completed 51.5 passes per 90 at 90.1% accuracy and was dispossessed just 0.14 times per 90, which placed him in the 96th percentile. However, that security came with reduced attacking impact: 1 goal, 0 assists, 0.57 key passes per 90 and only 0.14 successful dribbles per 90. The question is not simply whether Santos “declined” from Ligue 1 to the Premier League. It is what happens when a high-action #8 is moved from an expressive, aggressive role into a lower-risk midfield function. Strasbourg showed the explosive version. Chelsea showed the safer version. The ideal version probably sits between both. Passing: Vertical Connector, Not a Switcher Santos is a pass-first progressor. That phrase is important because he is not a midfielder who primarily breaks lines by carrying past opponents, and he is not a deep distributor who constantly hits long diagonals or 40-yard switches. His progression is shorter, sharper and more functional: vertical passes into the lines, bounce combinations, third-man connections and quick forward passes that maintain attacking tempo. The numbers support this. His Premier League pass volume and security were strong: 51.5 successful passes per 90 at 90.1% accuracy. But his long-ball output was modest, with only 1.00 accurate long balls per 90. His dribbling volume was also extremely low, at 0.14 successful dribbles per 90. That is why the pie chart (per90.streamlit) is important. It shows the player clearly: Santos moves the ball forward, but mostly through short-to-medium vertical passing rather than dribbling through midfield or spraying constant switches. He is not a controller in the traditional sense. Controllers dominate rhythm. Santos connects rhythm. Defence: Duel Dominance, Not Clean Tackling The most transferable part of Santos’ profile is his individual defensive action. In the Premier League, he produced 2.65 tackles per 90, 1.43 interceptions per 90 and a 62% duel win rate, placing him in the 94th percentile. This is where his profile makes the most sense. Santos actively seeks contact. He steps into duels, competes aggressively, wins second balls and reads moments to jump forward. His defensive value is not just in stopping attacks; it is in turning ball-wins into attacking triggers. However, this is not flawless defensive control. His recoveries dropped from 5.92 per 90 in Ligue 1 to 3.44 per 90 in the Premier League, suggesting Chelsea’s deeper, safer role pulled him away from the second-ball zones where his physicality is most useful. The UCL sample also exposed the major concern: discipline. His reading of play remained strong, with 2.35 interceptions per 90, but he committed 2.94 fouls per 90 — 10 fouls in 306 minutes, 2 yellow cards. Against a sharper tempo opposition, his aggression can become mistimed. That is the defensive trade-off. Santos’ dominance comes from duel volume, aggression and timing to step forward. It does not come from being a perfectly clean tackler. He should be allowed to defend forward, but not isolated as the only midfield safeguard. His best environment gives him license to hunt without making every missed challenge fatal. Possession & Carrying Santos’ Chelsea possession profile is easy to misunderstand if reduced to “safe passer.” The security is excellent. Being dispossessed only 0.14 times per 90 is elite, and his passing accuracy was very strong. But the trade-off is clear: low dribble volume, low progressive carry output and reduced attacking freedom. He can carry into space when the game opens, but he is not a carry-first #8. His normal method of progression is receiving, connecting forward, supporting the next phase and then arriving later. In a restrictive role, he becomes a secure recycler. In a freer role, his physicality, vertical passing and box-arrival instincts come alive. Shooting: The goal threat is real, but the Strasbourg output needs scaling down. In Ligue 1, Santos scored 10 goals from 5.16 xG. He took 46 shots, hit 15 on target (35%) and scored with both feet and headers. The variety matters: right foot (4), left foot (3), headers (3), goals from inside the box (8) and goals from distance (2). That is not random production. Santos has genuine box-arrival instincts. He times late runs well, attacks loose spaces, competes aerially and can finish in multiple ways. The Premier League sample is the reality check. He scored 1 goal from 2.00 xG, took 11 shots, hit only 2 on target and missed one big chance worth 0.83 xG. So the projection should be measured. He can score, but he is not a guaranteed double-digit midfielder at top-league level unless the system consistently gives him freedom to crash the box. A more realistic projection is a 4–7 goal midfielder, with upside if the role actively encourages late arrivals. Final Profile Verdict Santos is not a controller. He is a duel-heavy, pass-first, action midfielder. Ligue 1 showed the explosive version: more risk, more shots, more goals and more physical dominance. Chelsea showed the safer version: cleaner circulation, fewer turnovers, less attacking freedom and a more controlled midfield role. The upside is clear: duel-winning, defensive actions, vertical passing and late box arrivals. The risk is also clear: discipline, reduced recovery impact when used deeper, limited dribble/carry progression and shooting output that needs scaling down. The best version of Santos is not a lone #6. It is an action-heavy #8 who can defend forward, connect play quickly, win duels and attack the box from midfield. See how the £50 million Manchester United signing fits in Carrick’s system🧵⬇️ #AndreySantos #ManchesterUnited (Data extracted from: SofaScore, DataMB, per90Streamlit, FotMob, Opta)