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Chelsea have failed to obtain a work permit for one of their January signings.
The Premier League club paid Vasco de Gama £18 million for the 18 year old central midfielder, but, under the totting up system needed for a work permit, he missed out by a single point, partly due to the other midfielders that the club bought.
Santos has just finished playing for Brazil in the South American under-20 championship, where he captained the side that won the trophy, and scored six goals in the process.
Now Chelsea are considering what to do with him in the immediate future, with a loan back to Brazil the most obvious solution, and Palmeiras apparently the most likely candidate to sign him on a short-term basis.
Chelsea fans may be entitled to ask why the club did not do their homework on the likelihood of him being granted a work permit before signing him in the first place.
Andy is an exiled English football fan living in Cyprus. He loves all sports but football is his abiding passion, and he still has dreams every now and then about scoring the winning goal in a Wembley Cup Final, even though his playing days are long gone. He follows most major leagues, across Europe at least, and has a favoured team in each. When he’s not watching, listening, reading or downloading podcasts about football, he spend his time worrying about his beloved Arsenal.