Andrey Santos has gone on to great things since his Nottingham Forest spell, but his latest comments on Steve Cooper suggest that the brief loan impacted him negatively.
Part of Chelsea’s raid of young stars across the world, Andrey Santos joined Forest on loan to provide him with Premier League experience before moving on to the London club.
The deal was odd from the beginning, as Cooper didn’t even know about the Santos signing before he showed up at the Forest training ground.
Santos said that Cooper praised him in training, but he only played 97 minutes for Forest, leading to the Brazilian aiming a sly dig at Cooper in a new interview.
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Andrey Santos opens up on ‘very difficult’ Nottingham Forest spell
Forest fans have had to watch on in shock as Santos has starred for Strasbourg on loan in the 24/25 season, scoring ten goals as the French side narrowly missed out on Champions League football.
Santos will now return to Chelsea, but in an interview with the Daily Mail, the 21-year-old still clearly has a sour taste in his mouth about his Forest spell.
He said: “It was a very difficult moment in my career – the beginning at Chelsea, with loans and no games at Forest, especially because I was very young. I was always ready to train, always fit to play, but unfortunately, I didn’t get an opportunity there with the coach at Forest.”
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In hindsight, Reds fans might look at Santos’ form this season and have doubts about Cooper’s decision not to play him, but the truth is that the former Forest manager had plenty of options in the midfield to pick ahead of Santos.
There’s also the issue of developing a player for a Premier League rival, something Cooper reflected on in December before both departed from the City Ground.
Steve Cooper felt uncomfortable about developing Andrey Santos
Santos has been one of the best midfielders in Europe for Strasbourg as his development continues to the benefit of Chelsea, but it’s clear that Cooper wasn’t as keen on aiding Santos’ progress in the midst of a relegation battle.
Speaking to Metro, Cooper said: “Of course, everyone would have liked Andrey to play more. He is a really good young player, but there isn’t a load of players his age who are playing regularly in the Premier League.
“It is the sort of situation where if he was our player, he would be in the perfect situation of being in and around the first-team, looking to involve him and giving him some exposure when you can, but knowing you are developing him and getting him ready.
“The context to it is he isn’t our player, he is Chelsea’s, and that probably just adds a few question marks to the situation, which I understand.”
Chelsea still have a rather bloated squad, so it remains to be seen whether Santos gets a look-in next season, but it’s hard to disagree with Cooper’s take on having to develop a player who never had a permanent future at Forest.