Andrey Santos

Andrey Nascimento dos Santos (; born 3 May 2004) is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester United and the Brazil national team. Operating primarily as a central or defensive midfielder, Santos is known for his work rate, tackling, ball recovery, and ability to make late runs into the penalty area to score goals.

Santos began his career in Brazilian football with Vasco da Gama. He was signed by Chelsea in January 2023, returning to Vasco on loan shortly afterwards. While at Chelsea, he also had loans spells at Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg. He won the FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea in 2025.

Santos has captained Brazil at under-20 and under-23 levels. He made his senior international debut at the age of 18 in March 2023.

Club career Vasco da Gama At the age of four, Santos was introduced to futsal in an effort to lose weight. He fell in love with the game. He originally played in defence, before swapping to midfield during his time in Vasco da Gama's youth academy.

On 6 March 2021, at the age of 16, Santos made his professional debut for Vasco da Gama as an 85th-minute substitute in a 1–0 Campeonato Carioca loss away to Volta Redonda. He would go on to make his national league debut in a 3–0 Série B defeat away to Londrina on 28 November 2021. In the 2022 season, Vasco manager Zé Ricardo made Santos a starter in the team, propelling his career to new heights.

Chelsea

On 6 January 2023, Vasco da Gama announced that Santos had departed the club to join Premier League club Chelsea.

Loan to Vasco da Gama On 2 March 2023, he returned to Vasco on loan until 30 June 2023.

Loan to Nottingham Forest On 25 August 2023, Chelsea announced Santos' season-long loan to Nottingham Forest. He made his debut for Forest five days later on 30 August 2023, in the EFL Cup in a 1–0 defeat to Burnley. He made his Premier League debut on 29 October 2023, against Liverpool at Anfield in a 3–0 defeat. He was recalled from Nottingham Forest on 4 January 2024 after Santos only made two appearances in 5 months.

Loans to Strasbourg On 1 February 2024, Santos was loaned to Ligue 1 club Strasbourg until the end of the season. He made his debut for Strasbourg on 8 February 2024, in a 3–1 defeat to Lorient in Ligue 1. His first goal for the club came on 12 May 2024, scoring the winning goal in extra time in a 2–1 win against Metz. He joined Chelsea on their summer pre-season tour in the USA, before returning to Strasbourg on a season-long loan on 2 August 2024.

Return to Chelsea Santos made his debut for the club on 25 June 2025, in a 3–0 win against ES Tunis at the FIFA Club World Cup. He scored his first goal for the club on 29 October 2025, in a 4–3 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the EFL Cup.

Manchester United On 13 July 2026, Santos joined Manchester United on a five-year contract. The transfer fee was reported to be £48 million.

International career Youth Santos played youth international football for Brazil at under-15, under-20 and under-23 levels.

He represented Brazil's under-15s at the 2019 South American U-15 Championship, and captained the under-20 team to the title in the 2023 South American U-20 Championship. He was the tournament's joint-top scorer with six goals. Santos also captained Brazil at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was captain of the Brazil under-23 team at the 2024 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament.

Senior In March 2023, Santos was called-up by interim coach Ramon Menezes for Brazil's friendly away at Morocco, where he made his debut at the age of 18 as a starter in a 2–1 loss. He was named in Brazil's preliminary 55-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, but did not make the final 26-man squad.

Career statistics Club

International

Honours Vasco da Gama Taça Rio: 2021

Chelsea FIFA Club World Cup: 2025 FA Cup runner-up: 2025–26

Brazil U15 South American U-15 Championship: 2019

Brazil U20 South American U-20 Championship: 2023

Individual South American U-20 Championship top scorer: 2023 Ligue 1 Young Player of the Month: March 2024