Chelsea have already completed biggest transfer of the year and why it helps Moises Caicedo

Chelsea’s lack of January business and the failure to address remaining holes in the squad has been the focus of much attention in the month since the window ended. It is one of the factors, along with wider recruitment issues, that contributed to the protests ahead of last Tuesday’s supporter protest.

How, the fans ask, can a club commit to spending over £1.5billion on new players and not improve? Why is there still no elite goalkeeper, defensive leader, or supporting striker? Does the midfield really have to run almost entirely on Moises Caicedo’s engine?

These concerns have fed not only into the confusion around Chelsea’s squad building but also anger at the perceived inability to act and address what seem to be pretty obvious gaps. As is often the case at Chelsea, some of the answers may already be there.

Mike Penders is a goalkeeper they have extremely high hopes for. Kendry Paez and Estevao Willian are South American prospects with serious potential to improve the attack further down the line, and young defenders have also been pursued.

None of this helps Enzo Maresca now, but soon enough he may well reap the benefits of a deal done over two years ago. When Andrey Santos returns from his loan, it will be the first evidence of a long-term plan coming together.

The rest of Chelsea’s signings have either been dumped straight into the first team at a young age or they are still developing elsewhere on loan. Nobody is yet to have been purchased, nurtured away from the club, and then brought back in.

Santos is promising to be that man. Having disappointed on an initial loan at Nottingham Forest last season, the 20-year-old has established himself as one of the most exciting young midfielders in Europe once more.

Across 12 months at RC Strasbourg, Chelsea’s sister club under BlueCo ownership, Santos has thrived. It is all the more notable because of what is missing at Stamford Bridge.

Where Caicedo is relentlessly being asked to cover large distances in front of the defence, Santos is a natural foil. He has legs, energy, and the on-ball quality to make a huge difference.

In Enzo Fernandez and Romeo Lavia, Chelsea have two fine players but the styles of all three are not well-suited. Caicedo, as the only keen tackler and natural defender out of them, is left to do a lot of the hard yards.

Santos is by no means the same but does offer more physicality and presence. He has shown this in a fast and dynamic league in France, balancing it with his tactical intelligence under two managers (Patrick Vieira and now Liam Rosenior). In possession he adds value, punching passes around with variety.

Despite coming onto the radar as an 18-year-old at the Under-20 South American Championship, Santos is still extremely young and will only be 21 when he returns from loan in the summer. There are raw edges to be ironed out, as is natural, but Santos looks readymade for a role in Premier League football.

His journey to this stage has not been straightforward, an example of progress being far from linear, but he has arrived at this point regardless. Santos was also the first player to be signed in January 2023 by Chelsea, the window which sparked their search far and wide for the world’s best teenagers. It has known no bounds since and Santos might easily look like an arrival from a different time. In fact, he started this all off.

Coming in from Vasco da Gama, Santos will be one in what Chelsea hope becomes a lengthy list of players to make the step up. Unlike Angelo Gabriel and Deivid Washington, two Brazilian gambles which haven’t provided any senior impact, Santos has already proven his worth with strong displays in Europe.

Alongside his seven league goals – no midfielder has more in the league – Santos has made the most tackles as well, showcasing his all-round profile. Over time the hope is he will sharpen up in many areas, carving out a more specific role, but for now he can do a bit of everything to a good level. That makes him extremely useful, especially for a team without the required strength and depth in the centre of the park.

Add in midweek football in Europe (or so Chelsea hope) and Santos is a player who could easily have offered Maresca something this season. He would also have benefited from the challenge having become one of the best in his position in the division.

In possession and his tightness of touch and confidence to receive in dangerous areas are shown nicely by being among the top players for drawing fouls. Combining ball-winning and ball retention with a knack for popping up in the area to score, Santos does a lot which other Chelsea players simply don’t.

Whereas the goalkeeper problem, centre-back dilemma, and striker issue will all likely need resolving in the transfer market, when it comes to midfielders Chelsea have already got the answer on their books. Santos may well be the most important player joining Maresca’s squad.