Andrey Santos has been speaking on a podcast this week where he explained that his decision to leave Chelsea last summer on loan was his own decision driven by a desire to play, rather than a plan from the club.

"Chelsea wanted me to stay last season, it was my decision to go and play," Santos told Fora do Jogo on YouTube.

"I did very well in the pre-season but I saw that there was Enzo [Fernandez] and [Moises] Caicedo, and I wanted to play and have minutes. So I decided together with my family to go out on loan."

After a dodgy 6 months months on the bench with Nottingham Forest, it eventually worked out with a good spell at our affiliate club Strasbourg. Now he has the same decision to make again, with another long queue for minutes developing in midfield.

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That's another big body in the way of Santos' progress.

Andrey Santos in preseason. Another summer, another crucial career decision It's a big decision for Santos once again. Players always have to balance these things at these stages in their career - is it better to play more at a smaller club, one likely to spend a lot of time defending or playing long balls, or would you rather scrap for minutes at a bigger club, with better players in front of a manager you want to impress?

Last year Santos chose to play, a decision we always respect. The right call this year is probably to do the same again, especially if Lavia is looking as good as his camp are making out.