“You have to wonder…” – Journalist claims Chelsea could be forcing out midfield starlet fans are desperate to see | OneFootball

We were frustrated to see Moises Caicedo play against Flamengo in Chelsea’s midfield on Friday night because of the immense strain on his body.

The Ecuador star played the second most minutes in the whole squad last season, and then followed that up with two full games for his country before the Club World Cup – where he’s also now played 180/180 minutes.

WATCH Chelsea vs. ES Tunis for free on any device with DAZN.

Frustration over Santos’ lack of game time

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

There’s another angle to the frustration though – the Andrey Santos situation. Fans were excited to see him a year ago after a good 6 months at Strasbourg, but understood when he was sent to spent a full season in Alsace.

But now, after an exceptional year with our sister club, fans are desperate to see him in Blue – and he’s played 0 minute to Caicedo’s 180 in the USA so far. Chelsea sent him out to do media duties for yesterday’s game, and that just build expectations further than he would be out there. But no dice.

Fans fear Chelsea are pushing Santos to the exit like many before him

It’s not just impatience to see him play – it’s also the rising fear that this is a tactic to push him out.

As Kieran Gill put in his column for the Daily Mail:

“Chelsea put up Andrey Santos for the media the day before the Flamengo game in Philadelphia. He spoke of the possibility of making his debut and what facing this Brazilian side in particular – the rivals of Vasco da Gama, whose academy he came through – would mean to him.

“It was rather heart-warming, but then he did not get any minutes. That’s two games now in the United States without an appearance from Santos, and you have to wonder if Chelsea are hoping he will take the hint.”

We’ve seen a lot of players pushed out in recent seasons, frozen out of preseason in the summer and then left out of the squad in season if necessary. We hope that’s not the case again here.