Future Chelsea star? ‘Great’ Andrey Santos captains Strasbourg

Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos was given the Strasbourg captaincy against OGC Nice on Sunday.

The Brazilian youngster continues to impress in Alsace. Santos re-joined Strasbourg on loan from Chelsea in the summer after already enjoying a brief but positive spell at the club in the second half of last season.

Prior to his loan return, there had been significant uncertainty surrounding his Chelsea future. The Blues vacillated between keeping him and making him available for transfer, often changing their stance in the space of a week.

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The 20-year-old remains highly rated at Stamford Bridge but there was and is an acceptance that it could be hard for him to get regular minutes given that he has to compete with big-money signings like Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia.

However, his form at BlueCo affiliate Strasbourg increasingly suggests that he could yet become a key player for the Blues.

Santos handed captaincy

His importance to the Ligue 1 side was nicely illustrated on Sunday when head coach Liam Rosenior handed the youngster the captaincy in the absence of Habib Diarra.

Though Strasbourg would ultimately succumb to a 2-1 defeat to Nice, Santos impressed with the armband and was a standout performer for his side, contributing defensively and offensively with three key passes and more tackles than anyone else.

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“He was great,” Rosenior told GFFN after the match. “He constantly shows professionalism every day in his work, he constantly wants to improve and constantly trains at 100 per cent.

“There were other players that had a worthy cause to be captain but I felt that Andrey was the right choice. I felt that he didn’t do the armband any disservice at all.”

Santos has contributed with five goals and an assist for Strasbourg so far this season. It will be interesting to see if Chelsea can find room for him after this campaign.