Chelsea have no intention of letting midfielder Andrey Santos leave the club permanently or on loan this summer, according to a report.
The 21-year-old has been integrated into Enzo Maresca’s first-team plans after having mixed success across loans spells with Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg over the last two-and-a-half years.
Santos made only two senior appearances for Forest in the 2023-24 campaign, but he impressed as a first-team regular with Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg last season, scoring 10 goals and providing four assists in 32 Ligue 1 games.
His form with Strasbourg was rewarded with a return to the Brazil national team setup in June under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, and he made his first competitive appearance in a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador over two years after making his senior debut in a friendly.
According to the Evening Standard, West Ham United explored the possibility of signing Santos for around £45m earlier this summer, but they were quickly informed by Chelsea that the youngster is not for sale.
Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos in June 2025.
Chelsea will not sell or loan Santos this summer
West Ham have since abandoned their pursuit of Santos, who Chelsea do not wish to sell or loan out this summer and remains under contract at Stamford Bridge until June 2030.
Maresca has already handed Santos five senior appearances for Chelsea, including his first four outings at this summer's FIFA Club World Cup, with the midfielder making a substitute appearance in the Blues' 3-0 final triumph over Paris Saint-Germain.
Santos then came off the substitutes’ bench to make his Premier League debut for Chelsea in last weekend’s goalless stalemate with Crystal Palace.
It remains to be seen whether Santos will gradually become a first-team regular under Maresca, with Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo also battling for starts in Chelsea’s midfield this season.
South American football expert Tim Vickery believes that Santos has a “big season” ahead of him and has suggested that he could become the solution to Brazil’s midfield issue if he can play regularly and impress at club level.
Chelsea's Andrey Santos on August 8, 2025
Brazil prospect Santos eyeing up regular game time at Chelsea in “big season”
Speaking to Sky Sports News: Vickery said: "[Santos’s future] depends on what Chelsea want to do with him because they've got him on a long-term contract.
“A central midfielder, he had a storming season last year for one of Chelsea's sister clubs, Strasbourg. He got into Carlo Ancelotti's first Brazil squad, and came off the bench in Ancelotti's first game, so this is a big season for him.
"Now, Brazil have problems in central midfield, and Andrey Santos is appearing as perhaps a solution, but he's got that problem at Chelsea, hasn’t he? With them stockpiling so many players.
“He has to get ahead of either Moises Caicedo, who had an extraordinary season, or a World Cup winner in Enzo Fernandez just to get a game.
“What do Chelsea want to do? Are they open to a move, even a loan move? This feels almost like a test case for the problems of keeping such a big squad happy. You’ve stockpiled so many players, but only 11 of them can be in the starting lineup."
Santos will be pushing to feature again for Maresca’s side when Chelsea travel to the London Stadium to face West Ham United in the Premier League on Friday night.
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