Chelsea face Andrey Santos decision as Strasbourg seek year-long loan extension

Strasbourg want to keep Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos on loan next season.

The 20-year-old midfielder is one of the first success stories of Chelsea’s multi-club model under the BlueCo umbrella, the company operated by Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali.

Santos was sent on loan within the multi-club vehicle in January and has excelled. He recently scored a crucial last-minute winner in a 2-1 Ligue 1 derby win against Metz, his first goal in European football.

The one-time Brazil international is highly regarded in west London but played just twice in a disappointing loan spell at Nottingham Forest in the first half of the season.

But he has since overcome that setback to start in France in manager Patrick Vieira’s midfield and has built impressive partnerships with Ibrahima Sissoko and Habib Diarra.

Santos was on the bench for his first four games at Strasbourg but has since started the last eight league matches.

Officials at the Alsace club, which Chelsea's owners BlueCo bought for £60.3million last summer, will ask to keep Santos on loan for 12 more months.

Chelsea beat Newcastle to Santos in January 2023 when signing him from Brazilian side Vasco da Gama for £18m, but he has yet to line up for the club in a competitive match.