Chelsea still confident about Andrey Santos work permit — reports

Seemingly “just” another signing for the future, young midfielder Andrey Santos is evidently held much higher in Chelsea’s immediate regard, with the club hoping to use a special talent exemption to get him a work permit that would allow him to play for us this year already.

The 18-year-old’s classy and consistent performances for Brazil at the CONMEBOL U20 Championship have not dissuaded that notion, and according to reports from Fabrizio Romano and Goal, Chelsea remain confident that we will indeed get that permit. This is contrary to a few recent rumblings out of Brazil, which also claimed that the likes of Palmeiras and Andrey’s former team, Vasco are circling in case he cannot stay with Chelsea.

However, even if Santos fails to get a work permit, Chelsea would not necessarily have him go to Brazil, apparently preferring a European loan instead. We would have to wait with that until the summer, but in the meantime, it’s unlikely to be in anyone’s best interest to loan Andrey for just four months to play in the state championships, where the level of play is well below Brazil’s national league, which only starts in April.