Chelsea can’t loan out Andrey Santos abroad in January after Nottingham Forest recall

Chelsea have recalled Andrey Santos from Nottingham Forest after lack of playing time

Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos has been recalled by the Blues from Nottingham Forest following his dearth of minutes on the pitch for Steve Cooper’s side.

As per Athletic, now the club cannot sanction another loan spell outside the country for the Brazilian midfielder given what the rules say: Chelsea have already sent seven players on loan and are restricted to domestic destinations.

The West London club has sent the likes of Gabriel Slonina to Eupen, David Fofana to Union Berlin, Angelo Gabriel to Strasbourg, Diego Moreira to Lyon, Hakim Ziyech to Galatasaray, Kepa Arrizabalaga to Real Madrid, and Romelu Lukaku to Roma.

However, a transfer will only be possible if the club terminates one of their current players’ loan moves. The Mauricio Pochettino side already has plenty of midfielders, and the return of Santos will add more depth to the midfield.

Considering the majority of Chelsea’s midfielders are injured. Santos may get some game time at Chelsea until the end of the campaign. Carey Chukwuemeka is still recovering from a knee injury, while Romeo Lavia suffered another setback in his debut for Chelsea.

Enzo Fernandez has been playing regularly and should need rest to avoid picking up any injuries. Now the only midfielders remaining are Conor Gallagher and Moises Caicedo.

If we don’t sign another midfield player, Santos can play a good portion of minutes given that Alex Matos is going on loan. After all, such potential shouldn’t go to waste. With the way Mauricio Pochettino has transformed Gallagher, we can expect Santos to follow in Gallagher’s footsteps and develop under the Argentine coach. Santos has the potential in the world to blossom into one of the world’s best midfield players.

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However, Chelsea have a big decision to make on Santos because they shouldn’t send him to another club where he isn’t guaranteed enough game time. Otherwise, keeping him here is also fine, because at least he will get some minutes on the pitch.