(Video): Stunning volley a reminder of the massive mistake Chelsea have made over Brazilian | OneFootball

While Chelsea were toiling at the Etihad today, one of their players on loan was scoring a vital goal for his team.

Andrey Santos bagged his 7th in Ligue 1 this season with a superb full volley from a ball dropping to him on the edge of the area to equaliser for Strasbourg against Lille. It was a great strike which got the reaction it deserved from the home fans.

You can see the goal in the clip embedded here:

[Footage from Arena Sport 2]

That goal sparked the team into life, and they went on to win the match 2-1 after adding a second goal minutes later – thanks in part to another stellar showing in goal from Djordje Petrovic. Santos is seemingly an inspirational figure even when he doesn’t score – when he does, he looks like one of the top midfielders in Europe.

Just think how we could have used him at the Etihad today, snapping into tackles and energising a listless Chelsea team who were limp going forward and backwards.

Mistake over Santos loan getting more and more obvious

Andrey Santos in Strasbourg training.

We’ve begged for Andrey Santos to be recalled this month, but it’s not happening. Forget backing up Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo (something which is desperately needed, by the way), Santos would be starting for us right now. He would bring goals and physicality to the midfield, and who knows – maybe even a bit of leadership to this group.

But it’s not going to happen, and even if it did, it would be too late. He should have been reporting to Cobham on January 1st. Instead we’re playing our only current options into the ground, just begging for Caicedo to break down with a serious injury while we fritter away another season with no real prospect of winning anything.