Chelsea to pay MILLIONS to bring loan player home
Robin Bairner
- 1 Dec 2023 01:41 CST
- 3 min read
Chelsea are ready to spend €3 million to bring Diego Moreira back to the club from Ligue 1 side Lyon, where he is on loan.
The 19-year-old has been with Lyon since the summer but has struggled to earn game time at the struggling giants. Indeed, he has featured only three times and for a total of 75 minutes this season.
Chelsea’s primary concern, though, is over Andrey Santos, who has barely played since joining Nottingham Forest on loan in the summer. The Blues are, therefore, looking for a way to give the once-capped more match time.
They wish to do this by sending him on loan to Porto, according to The Evening Standard, yet they cannot do so as things stand because they already have the maximum of seven players loaned out to clubs abroad.
Chelsea are, therefore, looking to recall Moreira to free up one of these spaces to allow Andrey Santos to be sent to Portugal.
Moreira, meanwhile, could be loaned out in England or could simply remain at Chelsea after a tricky time in France, where he has been a member of a team that has been in freefall all season.
Moreira needs out of Lyon
The teenager actually made a promising start when he came off the bench against Le Havre in September to make his debut, yet he has been collateral damage of Fabio Grosso’s chaotic period in charge of OL. The Italian was sacked on Thursday, but this decision has likely come too late to save the Portuguese’s career at the Rhone side.
Even if he were to be given more opportunities by the next coach, the messy nature of Lyon’s campaign this season suggests that the club is not the best destination for a young player in his position to thrive.
Chelsea need to pay €2.9m to rupture the terms of Diego Moreira’s loan agreement, but to get him away from Lyon and to give Andrey Santos an opportunity at Porto, that looks a worthwhile hit.
