Andrey Santos and his situation at Chelsea

It is no secret that Premier League team Chelsea were the loudest club in the January transfer window. They got a new owner in the summer, American Todd Boehly, and he has gone on a spending spree, particularly in January where they splashed over 600 million euros in multiple signings. But if there is a one complex situation among those transfers is that of Andrey Santos.

The young Brazilian midfielder is one of the most promising players to come out of his homeland in recent times, having proved his worth at Vasco Da Gama, one of the biggest football clubs in the country, and also with the Brazil national team in the South American Under-20s Championship this January, scoring six goals and winning the competition. He was signed in early January by the English club, but now there are some complications.

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Due to the player coming from South America, he had to apply for a special work permit, but this request was rejected due to him not having played enough professional matches with his club and national team, and Chelsea having a lot of players in that particular position, which is that of midfield. There were special requests by the Blues to the corresponding organizations, but to no avail.

All of this, ironically enough, has been a direct result of the aforementioned spending spree that Chelsea have gone through in the last couple of transfer windows. Boehly has been determined to build an entire new squad and this has resulted in several new signings in midfield, such as Denis Zakaria, Enzo Fernandez, and Carney Chukwuemeka while already having the likes of Mateo Kovacic, N’Golo Kanté, Mason Mount, Conor Gallagher and Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the team.

It was a situation where Santos had everything to lose, considering the situation of his age (he is just 18 years old, which makes it harder for a work permit in England due to a lack of experience) and the high amount of signings and players that Chelsea have in his position. This is why the talented Brazilian will go on loan to keep playing for the remainder of the season, with a return to the Brasileirão Série A.

Andrey Santos will travel to Brazil on Sunday in order to complete his loan move to Palmeiras valid until December, end of Brazilian season – medical at the beginning of next week if all goes to plan 🔵✈️🇧🇷 #CFC

Chelsea have a clause to re-call Andrey in June. pic.twitter.com/VryWqtmjVr

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) February 18, 2023

It is also worth pointing that current Chelsea manager, Graham Potter, recently weighed in on the situation with the following statement on a press conference:

“Andrey’s still in the same place,” Potter said. “We’re looking at what the options are for him”

Andrey Santos is currently regarded as one of the most promising Brazilian players of his generation, and Chelsea beat the interest of teams such as FC Barcelona for his signature, so there is a very good argument to be made that Potter is keen in having him as a key part of his project. Having said all that, the work permit situation has put things a bit on hold and Chelsea are going to have to find a loan deal for Santos as soon as possible.