Andrey Santos has named his biggest inspirations in football
Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos has raised eyebrows by praising players from Manchester City and Newcastle United, while also naming a Manchester United star his biggest inspiration.
Santos graduated from the Vasco da Gama academy before going on to establish himself as an important member of their first team. The 19-year-old also captained Brazil U20s to glory at the South American championships in February last year, and his great form meant that a host of European clubs began vying for his services.
Ultimately, it was Chelsea who won the race. The Blues paid Vasco da Gama £18million to sign Santos in January last year, and he penned a huge seven-and-a-half-year contract with his new club.
Santos spent the remainder of the 2022-23 campaign back on loan at the Brazilian club, and he ended up with an overall record of nine goals in 49 appearances for them.
In the summer, the wonderkid was once again named Brazil U20 captain for their World Cup campaign, though they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Israel U20s.
When the player returned to England, Mauricio Pochettino took a look at him but decided he needed to go out on loan to gain more senior experience. Santos resultantly spent the first half of the season on loan at Nottingham Forest, though he has since returned after failing to force his way into contention for a starting role.
Chelsea are currently weighing up whether to send Santos out on loan again or keep him in Pochettino’s setup so he can learn from the more senior pros.
In an interview with AS, the youngster was asked about which players he looks up to, particularly from the Premier League. He has cast all rivalries aside by lauding stars from Man Utd, City and Newcastle.
Casemiro revealed to be Chelsea player’s ‘idol’
“My idol has always been Casemiro,” he said. “Now I pay a lot of attention to Rodrigo because he is phenomenal. My idols are Rodri, Casemiro and Bruno Guimaraes.”
Santos is currently preparing to represent Brazil U23s at the CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. Ahead of the clash against Bolivia U23s on Tuesday night, he was also quizzed about his rather disappointing campaign so far.
“Unfortunately I didn’t have the first part of the season that I wanted or that the people around me wanted,” he admitted.
“I didn’t have minutes or I didn’t have many minutes, but I learned a good lesson to mature more. During training I was always doing well, always well focused, always training with intensity, always evolving a lot. That’s what’s important.
“Now I’ve just returned from my loan from Nottingham Forest to Chelsea. We have preferred to wait for this situation, wait until after the Pre-Olympic to decide my future.”
