OFFICIAL: Chelsea wonderkid joins Strasbourg on loan

Tom Weber

2 Aug 2024 09:26 BST
3 min read

Todd Boehly, Behdad Eghbali, Chelsea, Strasbourg — © IMAGO

Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos has re-joined Strasbourg on loan.

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The Brazilian wonderkid's future has finally been resolved, for now at least. After lots of confusion about what Chelsea would do with him, Santos has been unveiled as a new Strasbourg player, joining the BlueCo side on a season-long loan from their English affiliate.

Santos will hope that his season can get off to a better start than the last one. Last summer, Chelsea loaned him to Nottingham Forest, but the 20-year-old barely featured, prompting the Blues to cut his stint short.

On January Deadline Day, Santos then joined fellow Blues youngster Angelo Gabriel on loan at Strasbourg and impressed in limited minutes, arriving late at the club due to pre-Olympic duties with Brazil.

This summer, amid talk of a loan extension, it was claimed that new coach Enzo Maresca had decided to keep Santos around the Chelsea first team only for reports to assert just a week later that the west London giants were now once again open to loaning him to their sister club.

Santos joins Strasbourg

Now, the latter scenario has indeed materialised, with the midfielder returning to Alsace for the 2024/25 season, the first under new boss Liam Rosenior.

In their official announcement, Strasbourg referred to the Brazilian as "one of the revelations of last season in Ligue 1" and asserted that he had "interest from many top European clubs."

With a full season in a settled environment, Chelsea and Strasbourg will hope that the youngster can fulfil his significant potential. The Blues have shown themselves willing to sell young talent for a profit, but there is a feeling that Santos can be good enough to become a regular fixture at Stamford Bridge.

New Chelsea signing Caleb Wiley is also expected to be loaned to Strasbourg. The 19-year-old left-back is currently competing at the Olympics with the United States.