The loan system has been a great friend to Chelsea over the years, and one current Blues loanee is lighting up one of Europe’s top five leagues this season.
One of the ways to trim down the Chelsea squad is to send players on loan. As it stands, there’s a mixture of both youth and experience spending time away from Stamford Bridge on a temporary basis.
The likes of Joao Felix, Ben Chilwell and Axel Disasi left the Blues on loan in the winter transfer window to get more minutes elsewhere. Incidentally, Italian media described Felix as a “ghost” after his latest AC Milan performance in midweek.
In terms of Chelsea’s youngsters, so many of them are taking giant strides forward in the 2024/25 campaign during their time out on loan.
Chelsea loanee Andrey Santos is the highest rated midfielder in Ligue 1
Chelsea youngster Andrey Santos, 20, is currently enjoying a superb season-long loan in France with sister club Strasbourg.
Remarkably, WhoScored data records that the Blues loanee is the highest rated midfielder in the entire Ligue 1 so far this season.
Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior described Santos as “smart” because of the youngster’s incredible impact so far. In 23 appearances across all competitions this campaign, the box-to-box central midfielder has scored eight goals.
Not only is he Ligue 1’s highest rated midfielder, he’s also sixth position for the league’s best overall performing players in the 2024/25 season.
| Team | Player | Season rating |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Ousmane Dembele | 7.80 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Achraf Hakimi | 7.51 |
| Marseille | Mason Greenwood | 7.45 |
| Nice | Evann Guessand | 7.37 |
| Lyon | Rayan Cherki | 7.37 |
| Strasbourg | Andrey Santos | 7.33 |
| Nice | Jonathan Clauss | 7.31 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Joao Neves | 7.29 |
| Paris Saint-Germain | Bradley Barcola | 7.29 |
| Nantes | Moses Simon | 7.23 |
Santos is proving himself to be the complete central midfield, someone who contributes in both defensive and offensive aspects. The next step will be seeing if he can replicate that in the Premier League.
Chelsea’s midfield depth will be immense next season
It’s going to feel like a new signing for Chelsea when Brazilian talent Santos returns to West London in the summer.
Santos has been earmarked for Chelsea’s squad in the 2025/26 season, so the Blues fans won’t have to wait too long until he’s shining for them.
On paper, they could have the strongest crop of central midfielders around next season.
- Andrey Santos
- Enzo Fernandez
- Moises Caicedo
- Romeo Lavia
It’s going to be a huge benefit for Santos to train and learn from the Chelsea midfielders. Will he be able to overtake them in the pecking order to start plenty of games, though?
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