Chelsea have focused on signing young players since the new ownership. Around 30 players were signed by the Blues in the three transfer windows under Todd Boehly. However, it is difficult for a manager and the team to give playing time to everyone. Some players easily adjust to the system, while others take time.
The Blues signed one such youngster from Brazilian club Vasco da Gama. Andrey Santos became a Chelsea player in January 2023 but is yet to represent the club. He was sent on loan back to his former club after signing a contract. At the start of the 2023-24 season, Santos was sent to Nottingham Forest. However, limited game time at Forest forced Chelsea to call him back. In the winter transfer window, the 19-year-old joined Ligue 1 side Strasbourg.
Andrey Santos is making a name for himself in Europe. He won the Ligue 1 Young Player of the Month in March. The youngster made his debut for the national side last year and this shows what he is capable of. Let’s take a look at what Santos has added to Strasbourg’s midfield.
Commanding the midfield
Andrey Santos plays in the centre of the park and can take any role for his side. He can play as a defensive midfielder and can also show his creative side. The heatmap shows that Andrey Santos is a box-to-box player and goes wide to win the ball.
By looking at the defensive territory of the player, we can observe that he has protected the defence on the right side. The youngster has won 47% of his defensive duels, 71.4% of his aerial duels and 55.6% of his loose ball duels. In addition, the player has made 4.3 interceptions per 90 minutes, with a couple of them coming on the edge of the opposition penalty box.
One of the areas where Andrey has impressed the most is in recovering the ball for his team. He averages 7.9 recoveries per 90 minutes and 48.3% of these are made in the attacking half. Some of these recoveries have even turned into dangerous ones.
Contributions to the attack
The 19-year-old is yet to score or create a goal for the French side. However, he can create chances for his team by finding a teammate in attacking areas. Andrey averages 40.5 passes per 90 minutes and has a decent accuracy rate of 89.3%. He has attempted 4.9 passes to the final third. The above viz shows that Santos is capable of creating chances from both sides.
Andrey Santos has made three starts for his team and has been fouled four times each in every game. This shows that he has the strength, speed and skills to get past the opposition defenders.
The young Brazilian has shown his A-game in the limited game time he has spent on the field. Chelsea needs to adjust him in the team, otherwise they could lose him to other big clubs.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine