Chelsea are reportedly prepared to allow Andrey Santos to link up with Strasbourg on loan.
In the summer, Santos made the temporary switch to Nottingham Forest, with the hope being that he would be provided with regular Premier League football.
However, the one-cap Brazil international was given just one brief substitute outing against Liverpool, with his only other appearance coming versus Burnley in the EFL Cup.
As a result, it came as no surprise when Chelsea opted to exercise their recall clause at the turn of the year, with Mauricio Pochettino revealing that the Blues would take their time before deciding on Santos's next move.
A recent report indicated that the 19-year-old could be kept at Stamford Bridge in order to bolster Pochettino's options for the remainder of the campaign.
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Pochettino also added on Tuesday that he was expecting a "quiet" end to the January transfer window, seemingly hinting that he was not anticipating many more outgoings.
According to the Evening Standard, Santos may still go back out on loan in the hope of gaining senior action on a regular basis.
The report claims that Strasbourg, who were purchased by BlueCo - Chelsea's owners - last year, had been identified as an ideal destination for Santos.
Brazilian compatriot Angelo Gabriel is already at the French outfit, with the winger having been provided with nine starts and nine substitute outings in Ligue 1 during 2023-24.
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Chelsea would seemingly hope for something similar for Santos at a time when Strasbourg sit just five points adrift of the top six in Ligue 1, as well as nine points above the bottom three.
Santos is currently away on international duty with Brazil Under-23s at a pre-Olympic tournament in South America, starting each of their recent victories over Colombia and Ecuador.
If Santos departs Chelsea as expected, Pochettino would be left with seven recognised central-midfield players, his options being boosted by the recent return of Cesare Casadei from a loan spell at Leicester City.
Nevertheless, each of Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu are currently sidelined through injury, while Carney Chukwuemeka has only just returned from a long layoff with a knee problem.
Darren Plant
