The whispers of earlier in the week were all but confirmed yesterday by Simon Johnson in The Athetic when he reported that Andrey Santos, the Chelsea midfielder who spent last season on loan, would form part of the first team squad next season.
Not long ago, it seemed a no-brainer to leave him at Strasbourg, our affiliate club in Ligue 1 where he had been thriving since moving in January. He was playing every week, learning from Patrick Vieira, and adapting to European football nicely. But now the trends are changing, and everything we hear tells us that he’s going to be immediately integrated into Enzo Maresca’s first team squad next season, just 12 months on from his arrival in Europe, and just 6 months after the real nadir of his career so far, when he left halfway through his loan at Nottingham Forest after barely featuring.
The first indications of Chelsea’s squad plans
A source quoted by Johnson in his piece makes it very clear what Chelsea have in mind for Santos next season:
“Stylistically, Santos is a perfect fit to play under Enzo Maresca. His ball retention is out of this world. He can play as a No 6 or a No 8 — so he is versatile.”
There are no shortage of midfielders on the books, and even though there will be a lot of games to play next season, Santos would be forgiven for worrying that he might be about to repeat his Forest experience, except this time with even more competition of even higher quality.
But clearly Chelsea have promised him he will play a decent amount, and he just has to take them at their word. He certainly offers plenty of defensive quality and physicality which Chelsea could use in their blend of midfield options, and from what we hear, Maresca is going to like his qualities.
All I as a great supporter of Chelsea FC since 2002 will expect from my beloved Chelsea next season is difference. Difference on the pitch, on the ball, in the dressing room, and even winning more games than losing.