Sources’ quotes on Andrey Santos make €22m transfer problematic for Chelsea squad builders | OneFootball

The deal for Chelsea to sign Dario Essugo from Sporting CP is all but done, with the €22m deal set to happen this summer.

This fills a major need for Chelsea in that it provides what should be a perfect alternative for Moises Caicedo, who has been overplayed this season thanks to a lack of options and an injury to Romeo Lavia.

With Essugo on board next season and Lavia hopefully fit, that shores us up mightily in the middle of the park. That does leave one question however – what happens to the much anticipated arrival of Andrey Santos?

The Brazilian is set to come back to Chelsea after an amazing year on loan with our sister club Strasbourg in Ligue 1, and he will want a major role. He won’t expect to replace Enzo Fernandez or Caicedo in the first team, but he may have an issue if both Lavia and Essugo end up ahead of him in the pecking order.

Chelsea can cross this bridge when they come to it – but trouble is on the horizon

Simon Phillips on Andrey Santos future.

In all likelihood, this is not a problem worth worrying about simply because football is how it is. Lavia will get injured again, or someone else will, and we’ll forget that we ever worried about spreading the games around.

But it’s certainly something lurking in the background – our writer Simon Phillips has pointed out that sources have told him the Brazilian expects to be “an important player” next season. Given there’s serious interest from top sides like Bayern Munich in the former Vasco player, Chelsea will know they need to make sure he’s convinced he will be just that.

Hopefully the added competition will drive everyone to higher levels of play, as well as giving much needed rests.