Andrey Santos: Chelsea complete signing of 18-year-old Brazilian midfielder from Vasco da Gama
Chelsea complete signing of midfielder Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama; the 18-year-old ended his Vasco career with eight goals in 38 matches; Santos is the Blues' third January signing after Monaco's Benoit Badiashile and David Datro Fofana
Saturday 7 January 2023 15:42, UK
Chelsea have completed the signing of teenage midfielder Andrey Santos from Vasco da Gama.
Sky Sports News revealed earlier in the week that Chelsea had agreed a deal with Vasco to sign the midfielder and that the 18-year-old was undergoing a medical with the Blues.
Santos is the Blues' third January arrival after they confirmed the £35m signing of Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile on Thursday on a seven-and-a-half-year deal and acquired David Datro Fofana from Molde.
Santos ended his Vasco da Gama career with 38 appearances and eight goals.
He said: "It's a very big opportunity for me. This is a big club playing in big competitions like the Premier League, so I am very excited. The players here are so good and I am very happy to be here."
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'A strong box-to-box midfielder with a goal in him'
South American football expert Tim Vickery told Sky Sports News:
"The reference here is Douglas Luiz because it's a similar type of player coming from the same club in Vasco de Gama.
"It's a similar situation in that he has been in the second division with Vasco. He helped them out of that league just as Douglas Luiz did a few years ago before moving on to Manchester City.
"He's a strong, box-to-box midfielder - I don't think Vasco would have been promoted without him.
"But it's a big step up. He's not a player who will be ready for Premier League football yet. He's only 18 - this is one for the future.
"Maybe a loan move is on the cards for him but there is certainly promise as a box-to-box midfielder who has a goal in him."
Carra hits out at 'baffling' Chelsea spending
Jamie Carragher and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink have questioned Chelsea's spending so far under new owner Todd Boehly.
Before Chelsea agreed the deal for Santos, they had spent around £220m on seven players aged 24 and under - the latest being Monaco defender Badiashile for £35m.
"Players aged 23 or 24 are not that young," Carragher told Sky Sports Premier League before Chelsea's 1-0 defeat to Man City earlier this week.
"Look at the top end [of the age group of Chelsea signings in the Todd Boehly era], there's Raheem Sterling - who is a good signing but he hasn't set the world alight, there's Kalidou Koulibaly who is not a great signing and I don't think Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a good signing.
"You're talking about a club that has spent £300m on top of the team last season and we're talking about them not bringing in winners or the right players.
"I totally disagree with the idea that Graham Potter is inheriting the problems that were there before.
"I thought Chelsea were in a great position. With Thomas Tuchel, they won the Champions League but they also got to every possible cup final he could possibly get to. They finished third behind the two best teams in the world - that's fair to call Liverpool and Manchester City that.
"To go from where they were - and I remember them playing Liverpool in the two cup finals and they were very good - and to spend £300m and be further away [from Liverpool and City] is just baffling."
Former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink added: "They want young, exciting and the best young players here and they're looking for the future. But you also need players who can come in and make the team better straight away, who can wear and handle the shirt and win games.
"The mentality can't change overnight as they have been spoiled for many years where they have won so many trophies and the fans will expect that still. To get that balance right, you need to have both. You can't just have young players and wait for the future.
"You need players who have Premier League experience, players who have won medals. [Look at] what Arsenal have done with Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko, what Manchester United have done with Casemiro. That's what they need to do. You need that at Chelsea, two or three players."
