Chelsea star Andrey Santos will have to wait a number of months to make his official Blues debut after another work permit application was rejected. The Brazilian international was Graham Potter's third January arrival joining from Serie B outfit Vasco de Gama for £16million, but he is yet to appear for his new club.
Despite his unavailability domestically, Chelsea fans have been able to watch their new 18-year-old wonderkid in action after he jetted off to the Under-20 South American Championship as captain of Brazil. Santos, alongside Vitor Roque who is attracting significant European interest, was the shining light of the tournament guiding his country to the trophy as top scorer.
Chelsea's initial work permit application was rejected with Santos missing out by a singular point under the "special talent" label having only played in the second division of Brazilian football last season.
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Graham Potter was asked on Friday for the latest on the teenager by football.london at his pre-match press conference. The Chelsea head coach replied: "Santos is still in the same place. We're looking at what the options are for him."
The hope was that his displays on the international stage would be enough to see a work permit granted, but again, via Brazilian journalist Lucas Pedrosa, a "special talent" work permit application proved unsuccessful by a single point. The reported reason is the teenager could not be classed as indispensable to Chelsea given the number of midfield options, including Enzo Fernandez and Denis Zakaria, available to Potter.
In the event of this exact outcome happening, Chelsea were prepared to allow Santos to leave the club on loan and that is exactly what is now in motion.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Santos is closing in on signing for Brazilian club Palmeiras on loan until December. It is also noted that Chelsea have a recall clause in the contract ready for June.
Palmeiras are the current Serie A champions and certainly have a knack for developing wonderkids. The club recently allowed Danilo to sign for Nottingham Forest for £16million, while 16-year-old Endrick will join Real Madrid in 2024 in a package deal worth £62.3million.
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