A Premier League manager has spoken out on his player’s future after he was linked with a move to Sunderland.
Sunderland have recently been linked with a move for Chelsea striker Andrey Santos.
According to HITC, the Black Cats are one of three Championship clubs who have shown interest in signing the Brazilian.
Andrey Santos joined Chelsea in January 2023 after netting nine goals in 49 appearances for Vasco da Gama.
The 19-year-old also made his name on the international stage, captaining Brazil U20s to an undefeated title in the 2023 South American U20 Championship, whilst also finishing as the joint top goalscorer of the tournament with six goals.
Santos joined Nottingham Forest on a season-long loan in the summer but didn’t make his Premier League debut until October. Bar 90 minutes in the second round of the Carabao Cup, Santos didn’t earn any further action for Forest before his loan spell was terminated this month.
Sunderland, West Brom and Hull City were said to be interested in signing the teenager, described as a ‘monster‘ by Brazilian legend Juninho.
There hasn’t been much movement on his potential exit since the report first emerged last week, however Mauricio Pochettino has now spoken on his future.
Ahead of Chelsea’s Cup clash with Middlesbrough tomorrow, the Chelsea boss said: “Andrey is going to Brazil to join the national team.
“For one month, he is going to be out of the dynamic of the club. During this time, we will decide if it is good for him to move on loan again or whether he stays with us when he is back from the national team.”
Would signing Andrey Santos be another bad move?
Andrey Santos is obviously very highly-rated in Brazil and at Stamford Bridge, but so was Mason Burstow. As was Jewison Bennette in Costa Rica.
The Brazilian could be a huge star in the future, but to pursue him when we already have a number of unproven, young strikers would be another questionable move from our under-pressure board.
Nazariy Rusyn finally got himself off the mark against Preston North End and could well push on from here, so unless we are going to bring in someone like Kieffer Moore, I would rather stick with the Ukrainian than bring in another forward who will just waste another loan spot at the club.
I would be amazed if Santos even wanted to come up to chilly Sunderland in the first place – though I suppose West Brom and Hull wouldn’t be much better.