Chelsea’s new signing Estevao Willian is hailed as one of “the two most promising players in the world”, but will offer something different from his fellow wonderkid Endrick.
Chelsea‘s new signing Estevao Willian has been hailed as one of “the two most promising football players in the world”, alongside Real Madrid-bound Brazil international and fellow Palmeiras product Endrick.
Chelsea have splashed the cash to steal a march on their transfer rivals in the race for the highly-rated 17-year-old, agreeing a deal thought to be worth around £56m that will see Estevao arrive at Stamford Bridge in 2025, when he turns 18.
The likes of Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid were all credited with an interest in the winger before Chelsea won the race – the latest example in an ever-growing list of big-money young signings by the West London club in recent years.
However, while many of Chelsea’s arrivals in the Todd Boehly era have been questioned, criticised and at times ridiculed, there is an excitement and buzz surrounding the capture of Estevao, generated by a feeling that the Premier League might be set to welcome one of standout stars of the next generation.
Estevao might only have 26 senior appearances to his name, but he has already scored five goals and stands out alongside fellow Palmeiras prodigy Endrick as one of the brightest talents in Brazilian football.
Palmeiras-produced prospects: Passion vs. polish
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Naturally, having come through at the same club, being the same nationality and playing in similar positions, Estevao has been compared to his fellow 17-year-old wonderkid.
Endrick’s star has risen higher than his teammate’s so far; the striker is already a regular in the Brazil squad, with three goals in eight appearances at international level, and he will officially join European champions Real Madrid in a big-money deal when he turns 18 later this month.
Brazilian football expert and Palmeiras specialist Diego Iwata Lima believes that both deserve to be considered among the world’s best young players, but that Estevao is the more raw, unvarnished and uninhibited talent.
“The comparison is inevitable. After all, it’s not every day that the same club produces the two most promising football players in the world within a period of less than two years,” he told Trivela.
“But while Endrick seemed to calculate every gesture and almost apologised to his opponents when scoring goals, Estevao showed a different verve.”
Endrick is seen as a more polished and media-trained star, whereas Estevao is seen to play with more of the fire and passion which many Brazilians associate with their football as much as silky skills and wonder goals.
A future fan favourite at Chelsea?
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When Estevao arrives in the Premier League, there will inevitably be questions as to whether a slight, 18-year-old, 5ft 9in winger will be able to shine in a league widely regarded as one of the most physical and demanding in world football.
However, Lima insists that Chelsea fans need not worry, pointing to an incident in Palmeiras’ recent 4-0 drubbing of Atletico Mineiro in their domestic league – a hammering the 17-year-old capped off with a goal of his own.
“When he scored the fourth goal of the rout (4-0), he asked the Atletico-MG fans to be quiet, in the middle of the MRV Arena,” Lima told Trivela.
“Estevao has been showing himself to be what social media has conventionally called a ‘root player’.
“Although he hasn’t seen Edmundo, Romario, Tulio Maravilha and others, and is young enough to not have experienced even the beginning of Neymar in Brazil, or the Valdivia era at Palmeiras, his behaviour seems to point more towards that side: the provocation that moves the fans.”
If the man nicknamed ‘Messinho’ delivers on his potential and shows the steel to stand up for himself in the Premier League, he will no doubt quickly establish himself as a firm fan favourite at Stamford Bridge, where they are crying out for a saviour to drag them back towards the top end of the table following two years of mid-table malaise.
Whether Estevao is the man to spark that resurgence remains to be seen, and they have one more year before he arrives to try to correct things anyway, but if he enjoys similar success to recent European-poached Brazilian wonderkids like Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo and Endrick, Chelsea may well have a future star on their hands.