18-year-old Chelsea youngster captains his country and scores last night in 3-0 win

By Nathaniel Kay

It’s easy to forget certain players on the books at Chelsea.

Faces come and go with such ferocity, it’s difficult to keep up with who is still at the club.

The loan army that has swept the continent means individuals could re-join the team or leave permanently without people even noticing.

Even those who are onboard permanently can be overlooked.

Chelsea’s seismic shopping spree this season has made it problematic to remember all of those registered in Graham Potter’s squad.

Gabriel Slonina recently stepped foot in Cobham for the first time, despite only being signed from Chicago Fire in October.

Slonina stayed in America until the MLS campaign concluded and is now part of the furniture at Cobham.

Denis Zakaria only recently reminded everyone of his presence following the move on loan from Juventus last summer.

Andrey Santos is still awaiting his moment to truly arrive at Chelsea.

The 18-year-old was recruited by the Blues at the start of the month alongside Benoit Badiashile and David Datro Fofana.

Whilst Badiashile and Fofana have remained with the first-team, Santos has yet to display his talents to Potter.

Instead of working with the Premier League group, the teenager was allowed to head off to the Under-20 South American championships with Brazil.

Andrey Santos shines away from Chelsea

The Samba stars kicked off their tournament in style last night with a 3-0 victory over Peru.

At the heart of their win was the Chelsea midfielder.

Santos was named captain for the match, justifying the armband with a goal in the second half.

It wasn’t the prettiest of strikes – a header from just inside the area that somehow managed to evade the Peru goalkeeper – but it was a memorable moment for the Brazilian.

Away from the goal, he dictated play for the young Seleção Canarinho, playing short and simple passes, whilst also pitching in with a few tackles.

Potter might not have been awake to watch the match, but hopefully word will have trickled down about Santos’ performance.  

Nathaniel Kay

"Nathaniel is a football journalist who graduated from the University of Derby. He worked at Burton Albion as part of their media team for two years. Nathaniel produced regular articles for the club’s official website and match-day programme. He covered the 2018 U20 Women’s World Cup in Brittany and has reported from grounds ranging from non-league up to the Premier League. Nathaniel is a full-time writer for the Chelsea Chronicle, and was formerly their social media man. His footballing career reached the sparkling heights of winning the Under-13s Bloxham Tournament in 2011."