Chelsea midfielder joins Strasbourg on loan

Chelsea have announced midfielder Andrey Santos will join sister club Strasbourg on loan for the rest of the season.

Santos spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Nottingham Forest but was seldom used at the City Ground and his spell in the East Midlands was cut short early.

The 19-year-old, who is currently captaining Brazil's Under-23s at the CONMEBOL pre-Olympic tournament in Venezuela, will spend the last few months of the season in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg.

Chelsea's BlueCo owners purchased Strasbourg last summer as part of their plans to form a multi-club group. They have already loaned in young winger Angelo following his move to Stamford Bridge.

Santos signed for Chelsea in January 2023 from Vasco da Gama before rejoining them on loan until the summer. He featured in pre-season under Mauricio Pochettino but the club ultimately decided he should continue his development elsewhere.

Having featured only twice for Forest, Chelsea will hope he earns more minutes in Ligue 1 with Strasbourg, who sit tenth in the table and are managed by Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira.

While Santos is departing on loan again, Italian midfielder Cesare Casadei is set to stay at Chelsea after being recalled from Leicester City. His appearance off the bench in Wednesday's 4-1 loss at Liverpool meant he could not play for another club this season.

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