Andrey Santos is Chelsea’s all-action midfielder set to take the world by storm.
In the 2023/24 season, Chelsea loaned Brazilian midfielder and then 19 year old Andrey Santos to Nottingham Forest. Prem fans do you remember him? Probably not. This can easily go down as one of the most forgettable transfers in the last few years as Santos only made 2 appearances for the Reds in what was a regrettably bad loan for all parties and he was eventually recalled in January. Now, after a year has passed, I can only shake at the thought of Santos being a part of this Nottingham Forest midfield as opposed to Ryan Yates or Danilo. This is because, at the time of writing, Santos has been arguably the best midfielder in the whole of Ligue 1 for a Strasbourg side currently sitting pretty at 7th in the French top division. This isn’t an exaggeration either, the 20 year old Brazilian has been a phenomenon in France and has already captained his side on numerous occasions throughout the campaign.
The true definition of an all-action midfielder, there is little that Santos has proved to be unable to do. He has the rare ability to arrive in the box at the right time, getting on the end of crosses and rebounds which his 180cm self really has no right to be doing. This is why he has scored 7 goals from midfield in 20 odd appearances and why he was the top scorer at the u20 CONMEBOL tournament in 2023 where he netted 6 in 8 and also captained his country to a tournament win. Being able to possess this trait before hitting the age of 21 is extremely rare and is one of the defining characteristics that separates Santos from most of his midfield age-mates across Europe.
On top of that, Santos is a defensive stalwart. He ranks among the top 2% midfielders in Europe for tackles won and the top 10% for tackles and interceptions per 90 whilst also being in the top 6% for defensive actions per 90 with 0.17. He has this ability to virtually stretch himself and win duels and slide tackles that leave you scratching your head and wondering how on earth he’s just done that.
Between the boxes, the Brazilian also has little faults. His technical ability is there for all to see. He keeps it simple with short and quick passes to those who are more adventurous in possession. He also has an eye for a long ball and is fairly accurate with them when he chooses to play such a pass, but for the most part - Santos will just play it smart at the right time, minimising the risk of losing the ball.
My only slight worry with him is physically, he isn’t the fastest or the tallest compared to many other midfielders so there is a danger that this lack of physical prowess may make it easy for the opposition to run through him in transitions however I’m sure his sheer defensive tenacity will ensure that this problem is kept to a minimum throughout his career.
Now, the midfielder is still on the books at Chelsea. According to reports he is already being heavily monitored by some of Europe’s best clubs due to the season he is having at Strasbourg which is worrying many Chelsea fans. They already have Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Lavia so people are suggesting that he won’t get the game time at Stamford Bridge that he deserves. However, recent reports have put this rumour to bed as internally at Chelsea, Santos is viewed as an integral part of their future and will not be getting sold come June.
I know one thing is true, wherever Santos ends up in the summer, I have every reason to believe the midfielder will keep shining like he is doing now and that he has all the ability to be regarded as one of the best in his position across Europe in a few years time.
