Andrey Santos’ move to Chelsea was sorted easily enough. His return to Brazil on loan is proving more tricky.
Once it was clear that the midfielder wasn’t going to get a work permit to join us in January, a loan back to the country where he’s been thriving in the second division seems an easy option. The priority would be to send him to a club playing in the Copa Libertadores, South America’s Champions League, to help him pick up the extra point he needs for clearance to work here.
But Vasco de Gama, the team he joined us from, are keen to get him back.
Over there, they’re blaming agents for the mess.
Gilmar Ferreira, a columnist for Extra, describes the mess in quotes picked up by SportWitness:
“It’s easy to see the influence of young midfielder Andrey’s agents in this story of the probable stopover at Palmeiras before playing for millionaire Chelsea,” he wrote.
“A kick in the idolatry of the boy raised in São Januário [the Vasco Stadium], who left Vasco even before defending them in a game for the Serie A.
“Cruzmaltino [Vasco] ]fans are disappointed with the boy, but I doubt that the manoeuvre crossed his mind.
“I believe that the player’s will would keep him in São Januário, he would play in the U-20 World Cup for the national team, until he could join the Chelsea squad.”
He’s upset about the idea that Santos would play for Palmeiras instead of just returning to Vasco. Clearly he doesn’t know about the work permit situation.
