Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County and Swansea City, as well as multiple League One clubs, are interested in signing former Bolton Wanderers captain Ricardo Almeida Santos, as per Pete O’Rourke.
Santos’ Career So Far
The Portuguese-born centre-back played for Dagenham and Redbridge at youth level, but never made a senior appearance for the Daggers.
He dropped into non-league as a youngster and was signed by Peterborough United after an impressive spell at the now-defunct Thurrock FC.
Santos played 75 times for the Posh and was a regular starter in League One during the 2015/16 season. But, a tough start to the following season saw the defender join League Two Barnet FC in search of more regular playing time.
In the 2017/18 campaign, the Portuguese was ever-present for the Bees, making 42 league appearances and scoring three goals. Unfortunately, the towering defender suffered a serious injury towards the end of the season and the North-London-based side were relegated to the National League.
The defender spent the next two seasons rebuilding himself physically before earning a move to Bolton Wanderers in League Two. He instantly stole the hearts of Trotters’ fans, playing every minute of the 2020/21 season as his new team were promoted into the third tier.
Santos excelled in the third division as Bolton consistently challenged for the playoffs and automatic promotion, being named in the PFA League One Team of the Season for three consecutive years.
This season, injuries took their toll on the powerful defender more than ever before as he started just 25 league games. The Portuguese will depart the Toughsheet Community Stadium after 207 appearances for the club.
Who Is Interested In Santos?
O’Rourke has identified three Championship clubs who are interested in signing the former Bolton captain.
Sheffield Wednesday are releasing Michael Ihiekwe upon the expiry of his contract in the summer and Shea Charles, who has played in midfield as well as in defence, is returning to Southampton upon the expiration of his loan. The Owls will also be losing several wide defenders in Ryo Hatsuse, Marvin Johnson and Pol Valentin.
This may mean that the likes of Dominic Iorfa and Max Lowe, who have played a considerable amount of football at centre-back, will be asked to play as full-backs more often next season.
Swansea City finished one place above Sheffield Wednesday this season, but the Welsh side are also losing a number of defenders in the summer.
Their biggest confirmed loss is Hannes Delcroix, who is returning to Burnley after joining the Swans on loan in January, whilst Cyrus Christie and Kristian Pedersen have also been released. Most worryingly, Alan Sheehan’s men are yet to agree a new contract with Harry Darling, who started 38 league games in the centre of defence this season.
Derby County finished this season in a lowly 19th place, but John Eustace did well to steer his side away from the relegation zone in the final weeks of the campaign. The Rams are losing Nathaniel Phillips and are yet to agree a deal with the experienced Craig Forsyth.
This leaves them with just Matt Clarke, Sondre Klingen Langås, Jake Rooney and Curtis Nelson (who has injured his cruciate ligaments and is still months away from a return) as their centre-back options heading into the new season.
Writer’s View
Despite the excellent work that Danny Röhl is doing at Sheffield Wednesday, the Owls are still mired by off-the-pitch problems, meaning it would be a risk for Santos to go there. Röhl himself has expressed his frustrations with the club’s ownership recently and there is no guarantee that the German will remain as the Owls’ manager.
If Swansea City can tie Harry Darling down to a new contract, it would leave them with the high-quality, yet relatively young centre-back pairing of Darling and Ben Cabango. This may mean that Santos would be more of a rotation option for the Swans, which he may not be keen on.
Although Derby County finished the lowest of the three teams, they may be the best destination for the tall Portuguese. The Rams showed great ambition in prying John Eustace away from a playoff-chasing Blackburn Rovers side and there is a clear gap in the squad as they only have two fully-established centre-backs contracted for next season when they have largely used a back three this year.
