Andrey Santos has his sights set on Chelsea - despite attracting interest from Arsenal due to his impressive form while on loan at Strasbourg. The 21-year-old midfielder's successful loan spell at the Blues' sister club in the French top-flight has caught the attention of scouts.
Santos, who scored 11 goals and provided five assists in 34 appearances across all competitions for Strasbourg in the 2024/25 season, was signed by Chelsea for £13m in January 2023 from Vasco da Gama in Brazil. However, he's yet to make his first-team debut.
Initially unable to secure a work permit with Chelsea, Santos was loaned out to Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg to gain more playing experience. His performances have been commendable, even captaining the French side on occasions, leading to suggestions that Chelsea could sell the Brazilian for £50m without him ever featuring for the club.
Earlier this season, reports claimed that Arsenal were 'working hard' to sign Santos, with Paris Saint-Germain also supposedly showing interest. However, Todd Boehly has praised Santos ahead of a possible role at the Club World Cup this summer, and the player himself is eager to prove his worth at his parent club.
"Everybody knows about my love, my desire to play for Chelsea," Santos told The Daily Mail. "Enzo Maresca was very sincere with me. I went to Strasbourg to get minutes. Now we'll see how it goes at the Club World Cup.
"The affection from Chelsea fans is something very special as well. Ever since the news broke that I was going to Chelsea, they started sending me a lot of messages. Back when I was at Vasco, too.
"And I had a spell at Nottingham, where I didn't play, but they sent me messages there, too, I'd see some posts, they'd tag me on Instagram and Twitter."
football.london understands Santos is all-set to be included in Chelsea's squad for the FIFA Club World Cup this month. He will be an excellent addition to Maresca's squad as the west Londoners aim to get their hands on some more silverware.
Boehly is keen to see how the youngster gets on in west London. Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum with Bloomberg last month, the Chelsea co-owner and chairman said: "We're going to the Club World Cup, so we are laser-focused on the Club World Cup.
"We have some players joining us that weren't on the team - Andrey Santos, we're really excited about him and what he can add to the squad."
However, Maresca has sounded a more cautious note, knowing that he already has Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in midfield, among others. Earlier this season, the Blues boss said: "Now, we all know that Andrey is doing well.
"But, in this moment, we are just focused about how we finish this season. And then when we finish this season, we're going to start to think about next season."
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Chelsea flag prior the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final Leg One match between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. (Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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