Chelsea new-boy Andrey Santos scores late winner as Brazil U20s clinch South American Championship to take tally to SIX
CHELSEA’S new signing Andrey Santos scored a late winner as the Brazil Under-20s won the South American Championship.
The youngsters defeated Uruguay 2-0 in the final to get their hands on the Sudamericano trophy.
APBrazil’s Andrey Santos scored again in the final[/caption]
AFPAndrey Santos has captained Brazil to glory[/caption]
AFPAndrey Santos and Vitor Roque have been Brazil’s standout players[/caption]
Santos has been one of the best performers in the tournament, netting six goals in eight games.
His goal tally was the joint-highest in the competition and he shared the golden boot award with team-mate Vitor Roque, 17, with Barcelona keen on the Athletico Paranaense star.
Santos is seen as a top prospect and he has also been captaining his country at the tournament.
The 18-year-old headed home minutes from time to break the deadlock in the final before Pedro got a second in stoppage time.
The central midfielder is waiting for a work permit to finalise his move to Chelsea from Brazilian side Vasco da Gama for a fee that could rise from £11million to £18million.
Despite his young age, the wonderkid played 37 times for the club, scoring on eight occasions to help his team gain promotion back to the top flight in Brazil.
He is yet to join up with Graham Potter‘s large squad.
Santos faces a tough challenge as he aims to break into the Blues first-team, with a plethora of more senior options ahead of him in the pecking order.
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However, he is relishing the challenge and looking forward to playing in Europe telling the club’s website when he signed: “It’s a very big opportunity for me.
“This is a big club playing in big competitions like the Premier League so I am very excited.
“The players here are so good and I am very happy to be here.”
Santos was the second player to arrive at Stamford Bridge in their busy January transfer window.
Owner Todd Boehly spent an eye-watering £330million last month on eight players, taking his overall cash splashing to a total of £606million.
