Andrey Santos impressed against Leeds United.placeholder image
Andrey Santos impressed against Leeds United. | Getty Images
Liam Rosenior does not want to lose the Chelsea midfielder but the chance to make a sale viable may have arisen.
Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos is becoming a linchpin in midfield under new manager Liam Rosenior and the rise of the 21-year-old could lead to an intriguing knock-on run of events.
The Blues paid just £18 million to sign the player from Vasco da Gama in 2023 and Santos was sent back to Brazil on loan, before subsequent temporary stints at Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg. Santos has only made 35 appearances for Chelsea with 31 of those coming this season.
Since Rosenior arrived at Stamford Bridge, the midfielder has started three of the five league matches, and was also in the XI against Hull City on Friday night. Santos had only started four Premier League fixtures under Enzo Maresca this term.
Andrey Santos becoming first class Chelsea player
With the pedigree of Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo, it’s a difficult task to not look a downgrade in one of those two defensive midfield roles but Santos has stepped up to the plate. Not only is he doing the fundamentals well enough to stay in the side, he brings his own character to the Chelsea side.
Santos put in a purring performance against Leeds United last week, earning a 9/10 rating from LondonWorld. We wrote: “If the game hadn’t taken its turn in the second half, Andrey Santos would be earning praise for a phenomenal outing.
“Still deserving of a nine, the 21-year-old keeps going from strength to strength under Rosenior. Loves the dirty work, amping the Stamford Bridge crowd up after tackles, and picks the right pass so easily. An exciting prospect.”
The rise of Santos is allowing Fernandez to play in more advanced roles. The Argentine played on the left wing against Leeds United and regularly swapped positions with Cole Palmer.
It’s refreshing to see Fernandez playing with freedom, having been anchored in a more defensive role due to injuries to the likes of Reece James and Romeo Lavia - but Chelsea aren’t short of players to fill the attacking midfield roles.
Chelsea could look to cash in on £104m valued Enzo Fernandez
Cole Palmer, Willian Estevao, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho are also completing to play behind the striker, with Marc Guiu and Joao Pedro also able to fill the number 10 role. With Santos’ growing stature, suddenly a potential sale of Fernandez is not quite so daunting.
Chelsea fans and manager Liam Rosenior would hate to see the player leave but reports of interest from Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid are rife. In January, when asked about rumours, Rosenior said: “It means nothing to me. When you’re a world-class player, an outstanding player, there’s always going to be speculation that you can’t control. He’s been outstanding in the time I’ve worked with him.
“He’s even surprised me in a good way in terms of what he did on Saturday – to be ill and cover the ground that he did, the way that he’s trained and the way that he’s performed. He’s a Chelsea player. He’s very important to me. And I think we’re going to have a really, really good, hopefully winning relationship moving forward in the short term and the long term.”
Fernandez is contracted at Stamford Bridge until 2032 but Mundo Deportivo believe a €120 million bid - around £104 million - could be enough to convince the club to sell. With a ready-made long term replacement in Santos, cashing in for that staggering sum may not be foolish.
Chelsea are proving they know how to spend money well. The £18 million for Santos looks a steal and so does £29 million man Estevao. There’s a lot of business that could be done with a £104 million cash injection.
In other news, Liam Rosenior says Chelsea star 'exemplified' everything he is looking for against Hull City.
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