Admirers are being gathered. Enquiries are being made. And it's becoming more and more clear Chelsea have a decision to make - and the player's parent club could be forced into it sooner than expected given his form on-loan with French partners Strasbourg.
The potential. The quality. For Santos and his backers, it was always there. Perhaps not for Steve Cooper, the now former Nottingham Forest manager. But at Chelsea. Inside the Brazilian Federation. And now with RCS. There's never been any real doubts about what Santos is capable of.
And now, after 12 months of Ligue 1 football, that potential and projection is being realised. To the point where heavyweights inside the local game are touting the 20 year-old midfielder to the likes of Olympique Marseille and PSG.
Indeed, the influential journalist Pierre Menes, after seeing Santos star in RCS's 1-1 draw with Marseille on the weekend, encouraged the Parisians to 'slum it' and get serious about the free-scoring Brazilian.
"Andrey Santos is compatible with the game of Luis Enrique," declared Menes on his popular Youtube channel. "He would have a slightly more defensive role, which would push forward Vitinha, who would then have a better offensive impact on the PSG game.
"But will PSG have the intelligence to watch a Strasbourg player? Let me say I'd doubt that..."
Perhaps Menes has a point - that is, if Santos was actually owned by RCS. But the player remains tied to Chelsea, where he is locked away until 2030. PSG may turn up their nose at dealing with Strasbourg - but the chance to nick away from Chelsea a prospect with Santos' potential may prove too tempting to ignore.
Certainly, Santos' impressive six goals - out of midfield - in 17 L1 games does have scouts from Europe's biggest clubs now regular attendees at Strasbourg's Stade de la Meinau. Bayern Munich, for one, have made contact with Chelsea about a summer deal. AC Milan, meanwhile, have assigned a scout to RCS games over the past six weeks with the brief to follow Santos' progress.
"Andrey (Santos) is amazing," declared Liam Rosenior, RCS's manager, earlier this season. "It is a great pleasure to work with him. I talked to him a lot this week about his positioning, with the aim that he touches the ball more.
"He is in great shape and progressing every day before my eyes. He is a really easy player to coach, who has a great character. I'm really happy for him."
Rosenior's comments coming just days before he would hand Santos the captaincy in the absence Habib Diarra. Again, at 20 and on foreign soil, wearing the RCS armband was no throwaway gesture by Santos' coach.
"He constantly shows professionalism every day in his work, he constantly wants to improve and constantly trains at 100%," says Rosenior.
"There were other players that had a worthy cause to be captain but I felt that Andrey was the right choice."
As mentioned, at Forest under Cooper, Santos didn't get a look in over those six months he spent at the City Ground. But in Rosenior, he's found a manager who not only believes in him - but also fully trusts him.
"Andrey is a top player, he is a true professional," Rosenior has also stated. "He works every day to progress and improve. On the pitch, he plays like a very experienced player, almost like a coach."
And beyond the pitch. Beyond the scouts and the rumours. Santos is also charming local fans. The youngster now giving his flash interviews in French. A gesture that has not only gone down well with RCS fans, but with the general football public across France.
It's such actions which has the likes of Menes urging PSG to keep Santos in Ligue 1. And given the club's connection to Brazilian football - and what PSG can offer a young player - Chelsea may find themselves with a talent who's head has been turned.
The new Rai or Valdo? Following the path of Ronaldinho and Thiago Silva? Certainly the tradition and history is there. Santos will be aware of it. As will his minders. They don't have the profile of Barcelona or Real Madrid across Brazil, but it's close. Santos choosing PSG over Chelsea would be understood inside the local game.
So Chelsea need to be wary. Santos, at 20, is proving himself. Better yet, after barely a year of senior European football, he's surpassing previous expectations. If the progress continues at this pace, don't be surprised if PSG take up Menes' suggestion...