Chelsea’s January signing earns first-ever senior call-up for national team

Young Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos earns a senior Brazil call-up

According to Evening Standard, young Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos, who is currently on loan with his former club Vasco da Gama, has earned his first senior call-up from the Brazil national team.

It is the first time he has been called up to this level after a successful U20 South American Championships in January, where he captained the Brazil U20 to the silverware.

Chelsea spent £18m to sign Santos from Vasco in the early half of the January window. After finishing his national duty, he was about to come to Stamford Bridge, only for his work permit application to be rejected by a point. So, the Blues decided to loan him back to Vasco till the end of this European season.

After spending valuable time with the senior national team squad in March, the 18-year-old will represent the Brazil U20 in the World Cup in May. The experiences he will gain while playing a few games for Vasco would be helpful for him ahead of potentially returning to play for Chelsea next season onward.

Santos is one of the best young players coming from the Brazilian setup. He is a versatile midfielder who can play as a number eight or as an attacking midfielder.

Chelsea have made their intentions clear by signing the top young talents from around the world. Santos is one such example. He is good enough to maybe even play regular minutes for the Blues’ senior team next season onward.

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We hope that when he and Chelsea next apply for a UK work permit in the summer, the application is approved. The club is confident that the handful of games he will play in the Brazilian top flight will be enough to get the permit ahead of the 2023/24 pre-season.