Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino have been handed a major boost heading into pre-season as one of their prospective future stars takes a step towards featuring in the first team.
After signing for £16million in January, Brazilian teenage star Andrey Santos has had to settle for making a serious impression with his country's Under-20 side and being back with former club Vasco Da Gama after being unable to secure a British visa. Now, with plans to include him in the squad under Pochettino moving forward, the player has taken a giant step towards making the dream a reality.
Santos has only just finished his season having captained his country at the Under-20 World Cup in Argentina. He led them to a narrow 3-2 defeat to the hosts in the semi-final, scoring twice in the last-16 and assisting in the quarter-final loss. He has also earned his first call-up to the senior side, making his debut against Morocco in March.
At just 19 he is seen as one of the most promising young players in his position on the planet and was heavily courted by Barcelona and other top European nations. The club did have plans to include him immediately under Graham Potter over the winter but were dealt a blow when his visa was denied.
Santos instead returned to South America where he continued to feature for Vasco Da Gama. Even though Potter has now gone, Pochettino has high hopes for the player and is expected to give him opportunities to stake a claim for a first team spot for the 2023/24 campaign.
Now, having made great strides in his professional career since joining six-months ago, Santos has some good news to deliver after announcing that he had been approved for a visa. Although it appears to be a US-visa, it is still a major boost.
READ MORE: Chelsea transfer news LIVE: Kai Havertz to Arsenal, Kylian Mbappe contact, Pochettino fire sale
In a post on Instagram, South American visa consultancy page Vel Visa Vistos posted an image of Santos with the caption: "[Translated] Approved visa."
The 19-year-old himself has since reposted the image, writing: "[Translated] Thank you for all the advice and agility! highly recommend."
It appears that he is referring to the consultancy group and would undoubtedly be happy with the decision as Chelsea are set to tour the States this summer during pre-season. As the club prepare to sell a handful of midfielders including Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and maybe Conor Gallagher, the prospect of losing them and also N'Golo Kante leaves the midfield short of options.
Chelsea are now the favourites to sign Brighton midfielder Moises Caicedo and have made the 21-year-old singled their priority this summer. It is also said that they have made a plea for West Ham to delay their decision over Declan Rice with a view to making a sizeable offer to the England star after selling their own players.
With Santos now edging closer to availability for the Blues, his latest news is extremely positive and the player looks set to be ready for Premier League action next season. He only missed out on meeting the visa criteria by one point under the FA system but with an international debut and even higher standing he has more landmarks to add to his application.
The Premier League and EFL are also discussing a new rule which would alter FA plans to allow them to sign four overseas players per season that would not be granted permits currently. It is set to offer sides reward for giving minutes to homegrown, English players.
READ NEXT :
Mauricio Pochettino has already revealed Kai Havertz transfer answer amid Chelsea mission
Chelsea make key decision on five players amid stunning £68m transfer proposal
