Liam Rosenior’s arrival as Chelsea manager has certainly helped a few of their current players. Of course, Joao Pedro has been getting the headlines. The Brazilian striker has scored 10 goals and provided 5 assists in 12 games under the English head coach. But he is not the only one to have benefited from the appointment.
Andrey Santos is someone who had already worked with Rosenior. The Brazilian midfielder was on loan at Strasbourg last season. And he played extensively, establishing himself as one of the best midfielders in Ligue 1.
Unsurprisingly, Santos has gotten more playing time since Rosenior came in. Under Enzo Maresca, he had played 24 times and 1057 minutes in the first half of the season, averaging about 44 minutes per appearance. He had one goal and five assists to his name in that time.
In contrast, in the two months since Rosenior has joined Chelsea, Santos has played 12 times and for 862 minutes. That is an average of about 72 minutes per appearance. So, his importance to the team has clearly increased, even though he is playing a very different role and has neither scored nor assisted.
Chelsea’s stance on Manchester United move for Andrey Santos
Santos is someone who Rosenior clearly rates very highly. Other clubs have taken note of his performances as well.
Manchester United were rumoured to hold interest in Santos going back to the summer, when Chelsea were trying to sign Alejandro Garnacho. According to The Chelsea Chronicle, Ben Jacobs said while speaking on the United in Focus YouTube channel:
“The only other name that I’ve heard and I’ll kind of repeat it from the Garnacho talks, is Andrey Santos.
“And right now, I think less likely than it was when Man United and Chelsea were negotiating over Alejandro Garnacho because at that point, Santos was not really getting game time. And now he’s playing under a manager who knows him really well from Strasbourg.
“And as a consequence, Chelsea’s not for sale stance, which was said at the time when they were talking over Alejandro Garnacho, is probably one that you would expect them to double down on heading into the summer.”
Chelsea want to keep Santos amid Manchester United interest
There is no question about Santos’ talent. And many feel that there is a lot more to come from him. He is still only 21 years of age and is probably still adjusting to the Premier League.
Interestingly, we have not seen a lot from him going forward since Rosenior arrived as Chelsea manager. That was not the case while the two were at Strasbourg though. In fact, it was completely the opposite.
While at Strasbourg, Santos was one of their biggest threats going forward. In 34 games, he scored 11 goals and provided 5 assists. So, he does have that in his locker and there could be a lot more to come from the Brazilian midfielder in the future. Chelsea should not even consider the idea of parting ways with him, especially to a direct rival like Manchester United.
