Chelsea powerhouse not given a sniff against LA – but could start on Friday night | OneFootball

It’s the 17th day in June – time to check out how our number 17 is getting on this month.

Chelsea fans itchy to see their powerful midfield force in action

Andrey Santos trains with Chelsea in Atlanta. (Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC)

As with a few numbers in this squad, it’s one that’s gone to a new home. After Raheem Sterling and Carney Chukwuemeka both used it in recent seasons, it’s gone to the recently returned Andrey Santos.

Chelsea fans can’t wait to see Estevao Willian and Liam Delap in action for their team this summer and beyond, but there’s almost as much hype about Santos. 18 superb months on loan with Strasbourg have meant a slew of tempting highlights beaming back to the mothership, and now supporters are super eager to see him pull on the Blue shirt.

There was even disappointment that he didn’t start against LAFC last night – but there are bound to be plenty of minutes for him to come. We would expect a first start of the tournament on Friday evening against his countrymen at Flamengo.

He’s strong and physical, he’s got an eye for goal, and he’s looked great in a possession heavy system at Strasbourg until Liam Rosenior. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect profile to slot into our squad.

Santos not given a chance against LA

In the end, Santos wasn’t given a minute off the bench. Dario Essugo was the choice to replace Moises Caicedo. We wonder if this was just a one game thing, with Santos maybe set to start the second game, or whether Maresca considers Santos to be below Essugo in the pecking order, certainly in the Caicedo role.

Perhaps Romeo Lavia will be the one left out for Santos when he’s given a go? In any case, we’ll learn a lot in these next few weeks.