Miguel Santos (footballer)


Miguel José Oliveira Silva Santos is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Romanian Liga I club Academica Clinceni, on loan from Astra Giurgiu.
He spent his youth with Benfica, SC Lourel, Belenenses, and Estoril, before spending the 2015–16 season as Benfica B's first choice goalkeeper. He signed with English club Port Vale for a five-month spell in August 2016, before moving on to Eerste Divisie side Fortuna Sittard in January 2017. He helped Fortuna win promotion out of the Eerste Divisie at the end of the 2017–18 season. He signed with Romanian side Astra Giurgiu in August 2018 and was loaned out to Academica Clinceni for the 2019–20 season.

Club career

Benfica B

Sanots joined Benfica's junior team from Estoril in 2013. He made his Segunda Liga debut for Benfica B in a 3–2 defeat to Atlético CP at the Futebol Campus on 17 August, when he came on as a substitute for Wei Huang following goalkeeper Bruno Varela's sending off. He made one further appearance in the 2013–14 campaign, before he established himself as Benfica B's first choice goalkeeper in February 2015 and played ten games at the end of the 2014–15 season. He played 37 of Benfica B's 46 league games in the 2015–16 season.

Port Vale

On 31 August 2016, Santos signed a two-year contract with English League One club Port Vale. He had already been training at Vale Park for several weeks before signing, and said that his aim was to replace Jak Alnwick as the club's first choice goalkeeper. He made his debut for the "Valiants" in a 1–0 defeat to Mansfield Town in an EFL Trophy Northern Group E match at Vale Park on 4 October. He made a second appearance in the same competition, keeping a clean sheet and saving two penalties in the resulting shoot-out with Doncaster Rovers; first-team coach Andy Smith praised Santos after the game, saying "It was an outstanding performance... he is a top quality goalkeeper". After Michael Brown succeeded Bruno Ribeiro as manager, Santos left the club by mutual consent in January 2017.

Fortuna Sittard

Santos joined Dutch Eerste Divisie club Fortuna Sittard in January 2017. He played 19 league games for Fortuna in the second half of the 2016–17 season. He played 25 matches for "Fortunezen" during the 2017–18 season as the club won promotion to the Eredivisie as runners-up of the Eerste Divisie.

Astra Giurgiu

On 15 August 2018, Santos signed a four-year contract with Romanian Liga I club Astra Giurgiu. Manager Marius Măldărășanu expected him to compete with Bulgarian goalkeeper Plamen Iliev for a first-team place. However he remained only a back-up to David Lazar and was restricted to four appearances at the Stadionul Marin Anastasovici in the 2018–19 season, and was an unused substitute in the Cupa României final defeat to Viitorul Constanța at the Ilie Oană Stadium.

Academica Clinceni (loan)

On 19 August 2019, he joined Liga I rivals Academica Clinceni on loan for the rest of the 2019–20 season.

Statistics

Honours

;Fortuna Sittard
;Astra Giurgiu