Chelsea star spotted ahead of late transfer as Mauricio Pochettino long-term plan clear
Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos has arrived at the training base of RC Strasbourg ahead of completing a loan move to Ligue 1 side. Santos returned from his stay at Nottingham Forest early in January before his next moves were planned by the Blues.
The goal was always to send him elsewhere to continue his development, football.london understands, and now the next steps are abundantly clear. Santos reached an agreement to join Strasbourg, who are also owned by the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital consortium, BlueCo, late on in the January window.
He spent most of the past four weeks away with his country, though, as Brazil competed in the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic tournament. As he does with the Under-20 side, Santos captained the team made up of Under-23 players.
Brazil weren't able to qualify for the games in Paris later this year though as they were defeated by Argentina in the final set of matches, only managing to come third in a second group stage phase. It now leaves Santos with just over five months to make something of a largely frustrating season so far.
The 19-year-old, who signed for Chelsea 13 months ago from Vasco da Gama, spent the second half of last year back in South America before he was granted a visa to come to England and then USA for pre-season. He played a big part in Mauricio Pochettino's preparations for the new campaign but was ultimately loaned out to Forest late on in the summer window.
At the City Ground he never truly found his place and struggled to make much of an impact for a side battling relegation. His loan was cut short but he now has the chance to turn things around as he joins up with fellow young Blues ace Angelo Gabriel.
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