Enzo Maresca has ruled out any possibility of Andrey Santos leaving Chelsea as the club have no intention of letting the midfielder leave permanently or on loan this summer.
The 21-year-old has been integrated into Maresca’s first team plans after having mixed success across loans spells with Nottingham Forest and Strasbourg over the last two-and-a-half years.
Santos made only two senior appearances for Forest in the 2023-24 campaign, but he impressed as a first-team regular with Chelsea’s sister club Strasbourg last season, scoring 10 goals and providing four assists in 32 Ligue 1 games.
His form with Strasbourg was rewarded with a return to the Brazil national team setup in June under new manager Carlo Ancelotti, and he made his first competitive appearance in a World Cup qualifier against Ecuador over two years after making his senior debut in a friendly.
Softfootball was reliably informed that West Ham United explored the possibility of signing Santos for around £45m earlier this summer, but they were quickly informed by Chelsea that the youngster is not for sale.
Now, according to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano via his X handle, head coach Enzo Maresca has dismissed speculation, shutting down hopes of clubs looking to sign Andrey Santos this summer.
The post reads:
” Enzo Maresca confirms no chance for Andrey Santos exit: “I’m very happy with Andrey and very happy with Andrey staying here with us”.
“He can play in Enzo’s Fernandez position for sure, he can play in Moi’s Caicedo position for sure”.
Maresca has already handed Santos five senior appearances for Chelsea, including his first four outings at this summer’s FIFA Club World Cup, with the midfielder making a substitute appearance in the Blues’ 3-0 final triumph over Paris Saint-Germain.
The Brazilian then came off the substitutes’ bench to make his Premier League debut for Chelsea in last weekend’s goalless stalemate with Crystal Palace.
It remains to be seen whether Andrey Santos will gradually become a first-team regular under Maresca, with Moises Caicedo, Enzo Fernandez, Romeo Lavia and Dario Essugo also battling for starts in Chelsea’s midfield this season.
