Chelsea starlet Andrey Santos will fly to London TOMORROW to gain a work permit.
Eighteen-year-old Santos, who signed from Vasco de Gama in January, proved he is a midfielder with a genuine eye for goal during the tournament in Colombia where he scored six, including one in Sunday’s final against Uruguay, to tie with teammate Vitor Roque for most goals in the competition, (12).
He hopes to acquire a work permit when he arrives to start his Chelsea career as soon as possible, but he does not meet the criteria to qualify automatically.
Santos’ success with the U20s might help. If not, as reported by UOL Esporte, Chelsea will consider a loan back to a Brazilian club who will play the Copa Libertadores this year, with Palmeiras and Internacional as front runners if this happens.
He and his representatives are optimistic that his Chelsea career will begin quickly, however, and Blues fans have also been rooting for his success at the South American tournament and feel like he can be one of the top young prospects of this transfer window.
Many midfielders from Brazilian clubs have joined the Premier League, like Joao Gomes from Flamengo to Southampton and Danilo from Palmeiras to Nottingham Forest.
After Monday off to rest and celebrate, Santos will fly depart Bogota and fly directly to England in the early hours of the Tuesday morning.
It came after his top showing to help Brazil secure the U20 Championship as the Samba Stars beat Uruguay 2-0.
Brazil were in need of a win over their South American rivals, who led by two points at the top of the group, in the decider to leapfrog them and claim the title, a feat they looked set to miss out on heading into the final six minutes.
That was before Santos popped up with the first goal of the game in the 84rd minute, heading home from Kaiki Bruno’s cross to break the deadlock and leave the Selecao on the cusp of victory.
The 18-year-old captain’s late header sparked jubilant Brazilian scenes both on the pitch and the sidelines, before Pedro put the icing on the cake by adding their second deep into stoppage time.
Santos was one of eight signings for Chelsea in the January transfer window, with the west London club forking out an unprecedented £300million on winter reinforcements.