Chelsea face problem over Andrey Santos first-team plan | Football

Chelsea completed an £18 million deal to sign the 18-year-old from Vasco da Gama in January.

Santos is regarded as one of the best young midfield talents in Brazil and has shown why he is rated so highly with his impressive performances for Brazil at the South American Under-20 Championship over the past two weeks.

The midfielder has already scored five goals in the tournament and can add to his tally this week as Brazil will play Colombia and Uruguay in the final stage.

According to Globo, Chelsea’s coaching staff have been encouraged by Santos’ displays for Brazil’s Under-20s and are planning to integrate the midfielder into Graham Potter’s first team as soon as possible.

Globo reports that as part of their agreement to sign Santos, Vasco have the option of re-signing the midfielder on loan, although the decision will be left up to the player.

However, Vasco are likely to face competition from clubs who are competing in the Copa Libertadores, which would benefit Chelsea as playing in that competition would improve Santos’ chances of obtaining a work permit.

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