Once again, Enzo Maresca left Chelsea supporters confused - and some a bit disappointed - by not using Andrey Santos as the Blues fell to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Flamengo on Friday.

Chelsea were defeated in their second FIFA Club World Cup match to make qualifying for the round of 16 that bit more complicated. The Blues will still fancy themselves to make the knockout stages but the defeat in Philadelphia was far from idea for Maresca and his players.

Even with Chelsea chasing an equaliser, for almost 20 minutes before Flamengo added a third in the latter stages, there was no sign of Santos from the bench. The 20-year-old midfielder enjoyed a tremendous 2024/25 season on loan at Strasbourg and that left Chelsea supporters eager to see the Brazilian at Stamford Bridge for the 2025/26 campaign.

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No decision has yet been made on where Santos will spend next season, but the midfielder made it very clear in a recent interview that he hopes it is with Chelsea. Santos, though, would have hoped by now that he would have gotten some minutes under his belt, with the ongoing Club World Cup a way to win Maresca over and persuade the head coach to keep him around next season.

Chelsea take on Esperance in their final group match later this week and Santos will be hoping he gets on the pitch one way or another. For Maresca, he needs to use the Brazil international otherwise he faces a summer of speculation over the midfielder's future. There are several interested clubs in Santos' signature, including Bayern Munich who are understood to be watching keenly from a distance.

The issue for Santos, though, is the competition Chelsea have in the middle of the park. Moises Caicedo has been the standout performer for the Blues over the past 12 months and has made himself a virtually undroppable figure in the midfield. Enzo Fernandez has started to add more goals and assists under Maresca, too, although there are still some supporters who remain unconvinced by the Argentina international.

The addition of Dario Essugo makes things even more difficult for Santos as well. The Brazilian is very versatile. He can be used in a deep-lying role in midfield or he can be pushed up the pitch and deployed in the No.10 role - something that may help with game time at Stamford Bridge should Cole Palmer need a rest.

Wherever he does play, he needs to do just that - play. Santos is clearly an extremely gifted young footballer with no ceiling, but Chelsea are playing a bit of a dangerous game this summer.