Young Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos will travel to Brazil to complete a loan move to Palmeiras after failing to secure a UK work permit, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Despite the effort from both Chelsea and Santos, who went straight to London following Brazil’s win in the Sudamericano Sub-20, the player has been unable to gain a work permit to play for the club.
As previously reported, Chelsea’s Plan B is to send on loan to Santos to a Brazilian club, preferably where would have the best chance of accumulating the points to qualify for a UK visa.
Palmeiras, who compete in the Copa Libertadores, the South American equivalent of the Champions League, is one of these preferred options.
Romano claims that Chelsea and Palmeiras agreed on a one-season loan, with the Santos expected to finalise the deal soon.
“Andrey Santos will travel to Brazil on Sunday in order to complete his loan move to Palmeiras valid until December, end of Brazilian season,” the Italian journalist wrote on Twitter.
“Medical at the beginning of next week if all goes to plan.”
Romano also mentioned that Chelsea will have the option to recall the 18-year-old in June, which makes sense, in case he will already have qualified for a work permit by the time Chelsea start their pre-season.
However, Brasileiro Serie A’s 2023 season starts on 15 April, while Copa Libertadores group stage begins in early April, so unfortunately, Santos might not play competitively for over a month.
This is far from ideal, considering Chelsea reportedly had planned to reintegrate the teenager into the first team straight away if it was not for the work permit issue.
In an earlier report, Romano mentioned how Chelsea are convinced that they have signed a “proper gem” in Santos, who became the joint-top scorer in Sudamericano Sub-20 and was named the player of the tournament.
On the other hand, the two other young midfield talents Chelsea have brought in this season; Carney Chukwuemeka and Cesare Casadei are in the first team and on loan at Championship side Reading, respectively.
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