Chelsea may bring back Andrey Santos from Nottingham Forest in January due to his limited playing time since his loan to the City Ground. The 19-year-old Brazilian has only played for 96 minutes in two appearances since joining Forest in the summer, and he wasn’t even on the bench for their recent 3-2 defeat at West Ham before the international break. Chelsea is considering activating a break clause in his season-long loan deal.
Santos, who Chelsea acquired in a £16 million deal from Vasco de Gama in January, has high expectations as a teenage midfielder. Earlier this year, he captained Brazil to victory in the South American Under-20 Championship, finishing as the joint-top scorer with six goals, establishing himself as one of the top young talents globally.
Despite Forest coach Steve Cooper’s reputation for developing emerging young talent, the move to the City Ground hasn’t panned out as hoped. Chelsea had anticipated that this loan spell would be beneficial for Santos’s development, but with the limited playing time, Chelsea has the option to recall him in January if a certain number of games are not met.
Santos’s only start this season was in a 1-0 Carabao Cup defeat against Burnley in August, and his sole Premier League appearance was as an 83rd-minute substitute in a 3-0 loss against Liverpool at Anfield in October.
If Chelsea recalls Santos, they may explore the option of sending him out on loan for the second half of the season, or he could rejoin Mauricio Pochettino’s first-team squad.
