Chelsea’s “most dangerous player” needs to join Moises Caicedo in midfield after great cameo | OneFootball

Chelsea’s defeat to Manchester United at the weekend was pretty disappointing, although we’ve managed to find some small positives.

On the London is Blue podcast, they noted the positive impact of Andrey Santos, who came on for an injured Cole Palmer after 20 minutes with his team already down to ten men.

Despite that situation, the Brazilian central midfielder managed to make an impact both in attack and defence, covering a lot of ground in a strange game in the pouring rain.

Santos impact praised by podcasters

Andrey Santos playing for Chelsea. (Photo by Eddie Keogh/Getty Images)

“I think Andrey really did stand out as the most dangerous player, although he was not put in a position to do a whole lot,” Verlaney said on the podcast.

“100% successful take ons, long balls, tackles, seven ball recoveries, 5/7 ground duels won, nine passes into the final third, nine defensive contributions, 88% pass accuracy, 51 passes completed. And he did well getting Casemiro for the red card, which was great gamesmanship.”

He’s got such a nice balance of physicality and technical ability, can attack and defend, and looks like he just needs Premier League experience to become a really top midfielder. Enzo Maresca should trust him more from this point.

Chelsea fans hope for change of midfielder setup

Santos is almost certain to start tonight – but how much can he really do against League 1 opposition to make his case for a Premier League start?

Most Blues fans would like to see a Moises Caicedo – Santos double pivot in the league, sooner rather than later.

With Cole Palmer looking set to miss some time with injury, this looks the perfect moment to try that out. Enzo Fernandez can shift forward into a more attacking position, while the Santos and Caicedo create a really solid and dynamic central pillar.