Chelsea are ready to integrate a new midfielder into the squad after an impressive season and half on loan at Strasbourg. Andrey Santos has been the French club’s best player according to FotMob ratings and has been turning heads all around the football world.
Manager Liam Rosenior called the youngster an “exceptional player…who shows great professionalism. He has a reading of the game that a 20-year-old player shouldn't have”. Rosenior has only managed Santos for the 2024-25 season but has been impressed by the Brazilian dynamo and sees great things in his future.
Speaking of the future, we can expect Santos to be integrated into the Chelsea squad as early as this summer when they begin competing in the Club World Cup. The Blues have a clear need at the defensive midfielder position with Moises Caicedo being the only healthy option at the moment. Romeo Lavia is excellent when fit but he has struggled with injury since joining Chelsea from Southampton in 2023.
Santos brings incredible box to box dynamism to the defensive midfield position and will allow Enzo Fernandez to roam more freely if he is deployed in the double pivot with Caicedo. We saw Enzo Maresca experiment successfully with this approach by having Reece James in that role and it can be even better with a natural DM there.
The young Brazilian also brings goalscoring flair which is unusual from that deep lying position as he currently has 7 goals and 1 assist for Strasbourg. That total is good enough for second in the squad as they push for a European place in the Ligue 1 table.
The most exciting aspect of the ascension of Santos to the Chelsea first team is that he would represent one of the first youth investments of the new ownership to make their way to Stamford Bridge. He was signed in 2023 for just £13 million and after a disappointing loan at Nottingham Forest he has thrived at Strasbourg and reportedly doubled his transfer value.
If Santos reaches his full potential at Chelsea than the £13 million they paid for his services will be an absolute steal. They paid nearly 10 times that amount for Caicedo and the hope is that he can equal the Ecuadorian for a fraction of the cost. Hopefully Santos gets the opportunity and time to grow at Stamford Bridge when he makes the move back come summer 2025.