Andrey Santos returned to Chelsea back in January following his failed loan stint with Nottingham Forest last season.
It was a loan move which did not work for any of the parties involved with Andrey Santos‘ minutes extremely limited under Steve Cooper.
Santos was only able to earn 97 minutes worth of football under Cooper during his half-season loan with the Reds.
After leaving the City Ground, Santos found himself another loan move to French outfit RC Strasbourg where minutes were made more available.
However, he has recently looked back on his time at Forest and shared his thoughts on Cooper’s management.
What Andrey Santos actually said about Steve Cooper at Nottingham Forest
Santos was a player who made the big move to England with Chelsea last summer in a deal reportedly worth £18m.
Clearly, the Blues were investing in the player’s potential with the young Brazilian midfielder arriving from his homeland having impressed with Vasco de Gama.
The 20-year-old has now returned to Chelsea on the back of his time in France where he earned 11 appearances (893 minutes) where he netted one goal.
But it seems that spell at Forest has had a lasting impact on him.
Santos has recently been speaking with Premier League Brasil, where he has looked back on his move to England.
” It was a bit of a surprise (to have left on loan), but I understand that it is part of the process. It is very difficult for a young person who comes from Brazil to play abroad, especially in the Premier League,” he said.
“There’s no way we can predict what’s going to happen. But I was always well, willing to help and making a difference in training, so much so that the coach at the time, Steve Cooper, was praising me a lot in training, but unfortunately he didn’t give me any opportunities. I was at my peak both physically and technically,” he added when discussing his time at
Steve Cooper explained Andrey Santos snub back in December
Only one of Santos’ two appearances for Forest actually came in the Premier League after he was handed a seven-minute cameo appearance in the 3-0 defeat to Liverpool.
His other opportunity came in the Carabao Cup where he played the full 90 in another defeat to Burnley.
Despite not offering the Brazilian the minutes, Cooper admitted he had been impressed with what he had saw from the youngster.
“Of course everyone would have liked Andrey to play more. He is a really good young player, but there isn’t a load of players his age who are playing regularly in the Premier League,” Cooper told the media back in December.
