It was a little over two years ago that Santos first arrived in England, arriving from Vasco da Gama in his homeland, initially going on loan from Chelsea to fellow Premier League club Nottingham Forest.

It was a difficult initial adaptation, but after 18 months continuing his development in France on loan with Strasbourg, the midfielder came back stronger and ready to compete at the highest level with the Blues. He showed exactly that by helping us to triumph at the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer, before forming part of Enzo Maresca’s squad for 2025/26.

He is part of a strong Brazilian contingent in that squad, alongside Joao Pedro and Estevao. The latter is embarking on his first campaign abroad at the age of 18, after moving from Palmeiras to Chelsea at the conclusion of the Club World Cup.

Estevao has made an impressive start to life in England, with Santos attempting to ease the transition using the benefit of his own experiences of coming to this country from Brazil at a young age.

‘I arrived here young like Estevao, I know how difficult it is to be here in the Premier League if you’re 18 years old and I try helping him the maximum I can,’ said Santos, speaking ahead of our UEFA Champions League trip to face Qarabag.

‘We are always together in the training ground and outside too. Our relationship is perfect, because we always go to the national team together so we do a lot of things together. I think it’s important to go on the pitch with this relationship.

‘It’s important to help each other, like Estevao. Sometimes I have to translate something for him and I think that is so important for me and for the other players too.

‘I speak French, English, Portuguese of course, and Spanish too. I think it’s so important to speak a lot of languages because it’s good for my communication in the dressing room with my team-mates.’

Santos acknowledges that making that switch abroad to the Premier League is different for every player, and that Estevao is handling it better than most at his age. That is underlined by the fact he has already made 14 appearances for the Blues and scored three goals.

That included Estevao’s first in the Champions League, in the 5-1 win over Ajax, which also made him the Blues’ youngest-ever scorer in that competition. However, no matter how quickly a player adapts, Santos believes the most important aspect always remains the same.

‘I think this is a process,’ Andrey continued. ‘Personally, I think it was my process. Estevao has another process. He came from Brazil and adapted very effectively so now he plays.

‘For me it was a little bit different, I was [on loan] at Forest and then Strasbourg and now I am here. So I think it’s a process.

‘You have to keep fighting because it’s our dream, a dream of our families too. You have to keep fighting always.’