Andrey Santos has made just two appearances for Nottingham Forest (Photo: Getty)
Chelsea could recall Andrey Santos from his loan at Nottingham Forest in January due to a lack of game time, according to reports.
Santos moved to Stamford Bridge from Vasco de Gama at the start of the year in a deal worth £16million.
Expectations are high for the teenage midfielder, who captained Brazil to glory at the South American Under-20 Championship earlier this year and finished as the tournament’s top goalscorer.
The 19-year-old won his first senior cap soon after and impressed for Chelsea during pre-season, though when the campaign proper started there was no room in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad for him.
As a result, he was sent on loan to the City Ground where it was hoped that he would flourish under Steve Cooper, a manager renowned for getting the best out of young talents.
But instead, Santos has made just two appearances for Forest – one in the Premier League and one in the Carabao Cup – totaling just 97 minutes of action.
Moreover, he was not even named in the squad for their last game – a 3-2 loss at West Ham – and it seems Chelsea’s patience with Forest is coming to an end.
Steve Cooper had promised Santos’ game time would improve (Photo: Getty)
It is said there is a clause in the loan deal that if Santos has not played a certain amount of games the Blues can recall him in January, and the Evening Standard report that that option is being considered.
Should that happen, it remains to be see whether or not he’ll be loaned out again or stay with Pochettino’s team for the rest of the season.
Speaking about Santos’ lack of minutes, Cooper said back in October: ‘He’s been good. He’s obviously a really good young player.
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‘I had a really good chat with Chelsea [about him] this week. I didn’t realise some stuff had been written about him.
‘There’s a lot of new players here and we’re really trying to get the balance right in integrating all the players at the right time, while trying to perform as best we can in every single game to get the results we want. That’s a real process.
‘With young players, sometimes it can take longer than others to settle in. I’m not saying he’s not, it’s just circumstantial at the moment in some of the games.’
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He can be recalled in January if he doesn’t play enough games.