Andrey Santos is set to make his first appearance for Manchester United in Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Wrexham.
Man United begin their preparations for the 2026-27 campaign in Helsinki, Finland and head coach Michael Carrick has named a 25-man squad for the trip.
Santos, who completed his transfer that could be worth £50million from Chelsea earlier in the week, is the only one of Man Utd’s three summer signings that could feature at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
Karl Darlow will remain in Manchester as he is in the final stages of recovering from a procedure he had at the end of last season, while Youri Tielemans has been granted extra time off following his exploits for Belgium at the World Cup.
The majority of United’s representatives in North America will not feature in the first pre-season fixture of the summer, explaining the absences of Bruno Fernandes, Diogo Dalot, Matheus Cunha, Noussair Mazraoui, Altay Bayindir, Amad, Senne Lammens, and of course, World Cup 2026 finalist Lisandro Martinez.
Manuel Ugarte is a long-term injury absentee and Benjamin Sesko has not travelled to Finland, instead working towards full fitness after missing the final three games of last season.
Carrick has named a squad that includes a mix of youth and experience, meaning the likes of Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Ayden Heaven, Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee and Bryan Mbeumo should all get some minutes.
Radek Vitek could get the nod in goal, while youngster Jaydan Kamason may benefit from no senior right-backs being available to start in defence.
Harry Amass, Chido Obi, Shea Lacey and Tyler Fletcher - who was in the Scotland World Cup squad - will all be hoping to impress, as will Toby Collyer after two loan spells with West Brom and Hull last season.
Wonderkid JJ Gabriel has not been named in the travelling squad.
Predicted Manchester United XI: Vitek; Kamason, Maguire, Heaven, Shaw; Santos, Mount; Mbeumo, T.Fletcher, Lacey; Zirkzee.
Injured: Ugarte, Sesko, Darlow
Time and date: 4pm BST on Saturday, July 18, 2026
How to watch: MUTV
Venue: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
