{"id":3758,"date":"2026-09-08T15:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:00:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=3758"},"modified":"2026-09-08T15:00:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T15:00:15","slug":"andrey-santos-will-already-be-questioning-his-decision-to-leave-chelsea-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/footballars.xyz\/?p=3758","title":{"rendered":"Andrey Santos will already be questioning his decision to leave Chelsea this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"post-384329\">\n<p><strong>In the summer transfer window, Manchester United signed Andrey Santos from Chelsea for \u00a350m.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>At the time, it looked like a good deal for all three parties. United got a good midfield player, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/tag\/andrey-santos\/\">Santos<\/a> joined a team with less competition in his position and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/club\/\">Chelsea<\/a> made a profit.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-grvmedia-grv-video GRVMultiVideo\"\/>\n<p>However, Santos must now be wondering whether he made the right choice, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/tag\/xabi-alonso\/\">Xabi Alonso<\/a> would probably love to have the Brazilian right now.<\/p>\n<section class=\"grv-talking-point\" data-trigger=\"vue-sidebar\" data-story-id=\"5a9c74ee-9dfb-4c17-80a3-f12c2bcadb5e\" data-story-name=\"Talk Chelsea\" data-comment-id=\"ec81514c-3772-479b-93af-2ebbd5bb11e6\" data-story-slug=\"talk-chelsea\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__inner\">\n<header class=\"grv-talking-point__header\">  <\/header>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__content\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__cta\">\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__title-wrap\">\n<p><h3 class=\"grv-talking-point__title\">With Enzo Fernandez gone and Lamine Camara staying at Monaco, who should partner Moises Caicedo in midfield this season?<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"grv-talking-point__embed\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"819\" height=\"1024\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/09\/Chelsea-midfielders-819x1024.png\" alt=\"Romeo Lavia, Reece James, Valentin Barco and Jordan Henderson\" class=\"wp-image-383559\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/09\/Chelsea-midfielders-819x1024.png 819w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/09\/Chelsea-midfielders-240x300.png 240w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/09\/Chelsea-midfielders-768x960.png 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/09\/Chelsea-midfielders-912x1140.png 912w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/09\/Chelsea-midfielders-600x750.png 600w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/09\/Chelsea-midfielders.png 1080w\"\/><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-andrey-santos-could-be-starting-for-chelsea-right-now-instead-of-being-on-manchester-united-s-bench\">Andrey Santos could be starting for Chelsea right now instead of being on Manchester United\u2019s bench<\/h2>\n<p>The reality is Santos would probably be starting for Chelsea had he decided to remain at Stamford Bridge.<\/p>\n<p>The 22-year-old left Chelsea for more first-team opportunities but could have got that under Alonso.<\/p>\n<p>Following Enzo Fernandez\u2019s move to Manchester City on deadline day and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/news\/filipe-luis-honestly-talks-about-lamine-camara-after-failed-chelsea-move\/\">the collapse of Lamine Camara\u2019s transfer to Chelsea<\/a>, the Blues are light in midfield.<\/p>\n<p>Both Moises Caicedo and Jordan Henderson are injured, which has left Romeo Lavia and Valentin Barco as the only natural midfielders available for selection.<\/p>\n<p>Lavia can only play about an hour maximum, though, after all of his fitness problems. <\/p>\n<p>The above has seen Alonso use Reece James and Malo Gusto, two right-backs, in midfield. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/columnist\/xabi-alonso-has-already-made-one-selection-no-one-wants-to-see-again-at-chelsea\/\">Gusto in the engine room is not a long-term solution<\/a>, and it is an experiment that no one would probably have had to see if Santos had stayed at Chelsea.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\">\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"732\" loading=\"lazy\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 991px) 100vw, 800px\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2240086453-1024x732.jpg\" alt=\"Andrey Santos of Chelsea\" class=\"wp-image-376852\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2240086453-1024x732.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2240086453-300x214.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2240086453-768x549.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2240086453-1536x1098.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2240086453-1140x815.jpg 1140w, https:\/\/cdn1.thechelseachronicle.com\/uploads\/17\/2026\/07\/GettyImages-2240086453-750x536.jpg 750w\"\/><\/div><figcaption title=\"LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 27:  Andrey Santos of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Brighton &amp; Hove Albion at Stamford Bridge on September 27, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Visionhaus\/Getty Images)\">Photo by Visionhaus\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Instead of lining up for Chelsea in midfield, Santos is now sitting on United\u2019s bench. He started in their first game of the season against Hull City before being dropped for the next two matches.<\/p>\n<p>You can argue it is hindsight, but the truth is Santos would be playing for Chelsea right now. Sometimes, a little bit of patience does pay off.<\/p>\n<p>Chelsea will still be happy with the money they have made from Santos\u2019 sale, but supporters would much prefer to have the Brazilian in midfield than Gusto.<\/p>\n<div class=\"see-more-wrapper lazy see-more-open see-more-blank extra-content\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/columnist\/andrey-santos-will-already-be-questioning-his-decision-to-leave-chelsea-this-summer\/none\" data-type=\"subscribe\">\n<div class=\"see-more subscribe\">\n<figure class=\"newsletter\">\n<div><svg class=\"loading\" width=\"118\" height=\"36\" viewbox=\"0 0 118 36\"><use href=\"#dots-svg\"\/><\/svg><\/p>\n<div class=\"signup\"><span class=\"hf\">Join Our Newsletter<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p><script>grvLoadAnalytics = () => {(function(d,s,i){var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s);j.async=true;j.src=\"https:\/\/www.googletagmanager.com\/gtag\/js?id=\"+i;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(document,'script','G-E7VRWQHDP6');(function(d,s,i){if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){var e=d.createElement(s);var n=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];e.type=\"text\/javascript\";e.async=true;e.src=\"https:\/\/static.chartbeat.com\/js\/chartbeat.js\";n.parentNode.insertBefore(e,n);}})(document,\"script\",\"G-E7VRWQHDP6\");(function(){let s=document.createElement(\"script\");s.async=true;s.dataset.domain=\"thechelseachronicle.com\/MFj4XQ\";s.src=\"https:\/\/api.publytics.net\/js\/script.manual.ping.min.js\";document.getElementsByTagName(\"head\")[0].appendChild(s);})();if(!\/callback=in\/.test(window.location.search)){setTimeout(function(){!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,document,'script','https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');fbq('init','663509325503632');fbq('track','PageView');fbq('track','ViewContent',{content_name:'Andrey Santos will already be questioning his decision to leave Chelsea this summer',content_category:'Opinion',content_ids:[384329,\"andrey-santos\"],content_type:'post',});},3000);}}<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thechelseachronicle.com\/columnist\/andrey-santos-will-already-be-questioning-his-decision-to-leave-chelsea-this-summer\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the summer transfer window, Manchester United signed Andrey Santos from Chelsea for \u00a350m. 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