Chelsea prepared to recall Andrey Santos from Nottingham Forest loan

Chelsea prepared to recall Andrey Santos from Nottingham Forest loan

Chelsea are ready to recall midfielder Andrey Santos from his loan with Nottingham Forest over his lack of minutes, 90min can confirm.

Santos arrived at Stamford Bridge to real excitement this summer and Forest worked hard to convince Chelsea to send the 19-year-old there on loan, eventually succeeding on August 25, 2023.

Six days later, however, Forest struck permanent deals for Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Dominguez for close to £40m combined, and the duo have dominated the minutes in Steve Cooper’s midfield. As a result, Santos has just seven minutes of Premier League action to his name.

Chelsea are unimpressed with Santos’ limited game time and sources have confirmed to 90min that, after talks with Forest, the Blues are prepared to trigger their break clause in the deal and recall Santos in January.

Forest boss Cooper confessed in October that he had been in contact with Chelsea over his use of Santos, but after just one cameo appearance for the midfielder, the Blues are prepared to act and send him elsewhere.

Talks are already underway over Santos’ next destination, with Chelsea considering sending the midfielder to sister side Strasbourg in Ligue 1, where young Brazilian winger Angelo has impressed on loan this season.

However, the next move for Santos is complicated by FIFA’s loan rules. Clubs are restricted to seven senior overseas loans and Chelsea have already used up all seven spots, meaning there is currently no space for Santos as it stands.

Romelu Lukaku, Hakim Ziyech, Kepa Arrizabalaga, Angelo, Gabriel Slonina, David Datro Fofana and Diego Moreira are all currently taking up those spots, meaning one loan would have to be cancelled to make space for Santos.

Of that group, it is Moreira’s whose situation is of the biggest concern to Chelsea. The 19-year-old winger, a free transfer from Benfica, has seen just 75 minutes with a Lyon side in crisis and he could be recalled to make space for Santos.

Chelsea are also unimpressed by the lack of minutes for another loanee, 19-year-old midfielder Charlie Webster, who has managed 92 minutes with Dutch side Eredivisie. Webster’s loan does not count towards FIFA’s rules as he is not a senior player at Chelsea.