Paul Ince 'baffled' by £50m Andrey Santos transfer to Man Utd

Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has expressed his confusion over the club's decision to spend £50 million to sign Andrey Santos from Chelsea. Ince believes the fee is excessive for the young player, especially with the emergence of academy graduate Kobbie Mainoo in the midfield ranks.

Whether [Manuel] Ugarte comes back, I don’t know, but 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. So to spend £50m on a young central midfield player when you’ve got Mainoo coming through the ranks, kind of baffled me a bit. Paul Ince

Ince also addressed the addition of Youri Tielemans, who arrived via a £35m release clause. While he praised Tielemans' quality, Ince reiterated his belief in Mainoo, who contributed significantly with 30 appearances last season, as a key component for the team's engine room.

Regarding Marcus Rashford's future, which remains a talking point following his loan spell at Barcelona, Ince remains optimistic. Despite recent struggles, he believes that Michael Carrick can help the forward rediscover his form.

I think Carrick can get the best out of him. I really, really do. 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. Paul Ince