What happened off the pitch was the most encouraging part of Andrey Santos' first Man United game

There were signs of rust from Andrey Santos during his pre-season debut for Manchester United against Wrexham.

Santos made a bright start to the game. He got on the ball regularly and linked up well with Mason Mount, but there were a few hairy moments, like when he was dispossessed in the eighth minute.

Wrexham carved out a golden opportunity, but Tom Heaton made a save and the linesman raised his flag to signal the goal would have been disallowed.

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To get it, it's a simple one-two punch.

Santos had his blushes spared. It would have been far from a disaster if Wrexham had scored from that chance, given that pre-season is all about fitness, but no player wants to make a mistake leading to a goal within minutes of their first start for a new club.

There were a few positives to take from Santos' performance. His passing was the highlight of his display in the first 45 minutes, and it was a good sign that he didn't back down from a duel with Wrexham forward Sam Smith.

Santos exchanged a few fiery words with Smith near the end of the first half. United want to add players with a winning mentality to the dressing room, so it was not a negative to see him embroiled in a verbal spat.

It showed that Santos cared and wanted to win, even in a fixture of no consequence. Every South American player who has represented United has shared the same fiery temperament.

Not much can or should be read into Santos' performance against Wrexham in Helsinki because the friendly was the start of pre-season, an exercise to build fitness as the team goes through the gears this summer.

Michael Carrick made that point during a pre-match