Andrey Santos is expected to be the biggest winner from Liam Rosenior’s Chelsea appointment.
Rosenior left Strasbourg for the Blues earlier this month. The 41-year-old oversaw a 5-1 FA Cup win over Charlton in his first game in charge. Chelsea followed that up with a 3-2 home loss to Arsenal. It’s been a mixed bag to say the least.
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The new Blues boss takes on his first league game on Saturday, and it’s another West London Derby for Chelsea. Indeed, Brentford make the short trip across the capital this weekend. It won’t be a walk in the park for Chelsea. The Bees sit fifth in the Premier League. They’re unbeaten in six in England’s top tier, winning four times. Keith Andrews is working wonders at the Gtech Community Stadium.
By comparison, Rosenior’s side have won only one of their last nine league outings. They’ve since dropped to eighth in the table. They’re still only two points behind Brentford. The form book, though, suggests Brentford come away with all the spoils.
Rosenior appointment stands to benefit Santos
To avoid a reverse on home turf, Rosenior may turn to a tried and tested midfielder to dictate the play this weekend. “We miss him,” Rosenior said following Strasbourg’s 0-0 draw with Lorient last month, one of his last in charge of the French club. Earlier in the season, meanwhile, Santos said: “Liam, I love my ex-coach.”
It’s a mutually beneficial relationship between player and manager. Santos has struggled for regular game time following his return to Chelsea last year. The Brazilian has both Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez ahead of him in the pecking order. A lack of regular action hasn’t come as a surprise.
That said, former boss Enzo Maresca just couldn’t strike a tune with Santos. When the latter came into the side, he didn’t look quite as effective as he did during his Strasbourg days. Rosenior knew how to get the best out of Santos. The club will hope he can repeat the feat now the pair have been reunited at Chelsea.
What made Santos so effective for Strasbourg?
So, what made Santos so effective under Rosenior at Strasbourg? Notably, the French giants favoured a three-man backline last season. The extra centre-back granted Santos additional freedom to push forward. Indeed, Santos operated more as a box-to-box star, tasked with protecting the defence and supporting the attack.
That’s not to say Santos didn’t work hard off the ball. He made more tackles (110) than any other player in Ligue 1 last season. However, he also chipped in with 10 league goals. Only Chelsea-bound Emmanuel Emegha (14) bagged more for Strasbourg.
At Chelsea, the preference has been a 4-2-3-1 setup. Maresca favoured the system, and Rosenior has followed in the Italian’s footsteps. With an additional attacking player in the side, it means there is less of a need for Santos to push forward. This has seen the Brazil international struggle in the opening months of his time back at Stamford Bridge.
That shouldn’t come as a shock, however. Santos is adjusting to a new system. There is also a stylistic change. Strasbourg averaged 50.3% possession in Ligue 1 last season. They relied on quick transitions to sucker punch opponents. Only five teams scored more counter-attacking goals than Strasbourg (7) in the 2024-25 Ligue 1 campaign.
Chelsea dominance hindering Santos
Chelsea, meanwhile, rank fourth for possession (57.7%) in the Premier League this season. There is less onus on the Blues needing to hit teams on the counter, and rather a greater desire to dominate teams. This ultimately highlights one of Santos’ shortcomings.
The 21-year-old boasts a pass accuracy of 86.5%. Caicedo, meanwhile, finds a teammate with 91% of his attempted passes. The former just isn’t to the standard of the latter when it comes to finding a teammate in this setup. It’s another reason why Santos has struggled to match his Strasbourg form.
With Rosenior now at the Stamford Bridge helm, however, fans should start to see the best of Santos. There is still a little adaptation required in order to reach his Strasbourg level but with Rosenior overseeing things; Santos can expected a prominent role for Chelsea going forward.
And in building up consistent game time, it surely won’t be long before Santos replicates his Strasbourg form in Rosenior’s Chelsea side.
