It was spectacular but the early impressions are that he is spectacular. With a blend of audacity, agility and ability, Estevao Willian went for the overhead kick. He almost scored it, too, the ball flying past the far post of a goalkeeper, in Remko Pasveer, who was in his twenties by the time a prodigy was born.
No matter. He had already scored, adding the Champions League to the Premier League, the Club World Cup, the Copa Libertadores and World Cup qualifiers among the competitions he has graced with a goal in 2025. Chelsea’s 5-1 rout of Ajax was a night for the young but the youngest starter of all made the greatest mark.
The 19-year-olds, Marc Guiu and Tyrique George, also struck and while Estevao’s goal was only a penalty, and one gifted to him by Enzo Fernandez, who had already scored from 12 yards himself, it was taken with masterly expertise.
Ajax were so feeble that perhaps Chelsea should not read too much into a demolition. But what can be said is that Estevao was the most captivating presence, a player who will decorate games against far better teams. Chelsea have got a star. Which, as young as a player who joined at 18 is, they knew before his arrival: his transfer arranged a year earlier, he gave the Blues a taste of his talent when scoring against them at the Club World Cup.
Chelsea’s recruitment has been mocked: for the cost, the excessiveness, the seeming willingness to buy anyone and everyone. There are times when they have seemed to operate by the law of averages: buy enough young players and, logically, at least one would be superb. But many of them have got in each other’s way, their development stalled in the traffic jam of players at Stamford Bridge. They have been loaned out, sold for PSR profits, marginalised or forgotten.
But there was something more targeted in going for Estevao. This was more the sort of approach Real Madrid adopted when they raided Brazil for Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo, prepared to spend heavily and sign young, going for the outstanding wunderkind available, confident this was a coup.
Other comparisons have abounded. Teammate Jorrel Hato had compared him to Lamine Yamal. In Brazil, he was nicknamed “Messinho”. Some in the Chelsea fanbase see similarities with another crowd-pleaser, Eden Hazard. On Wednesday, Enzo Maresca twice mentioned him in the same sentence as Cole Palmer.
“I feel very lucky to be his manager because it is exciting,” said Maresca. “I think the fans, they paid [for] the tickets to see players like Cole, like Estevao, this kind of player. With young players, most of the time, you are worried because they play one [good] game, two games and they think they are already a top player. The good thing about Estevao is that we don’t need to be worried about that because he’s very humble, he’s very polite. He wants to work hard.”
The one criticism that could be levelled at his display against Ajax may have reflected a youthful over-eagerness. Estevao was booked for a needless foul on Raul Moro; Chelsea’s red-card club is sizeable enough without him threatening to join them.
But it also reflected a determination to be involved. The injury-time winner against Liverpool was a sign of a certain stature: it had to be him, a player born for such stages. Estevao’s introduction has been gradual, but he can look so irresistible that he will surely soon spend the majority of the minutes on the pitch.
However, part of the question is where. So far this season, Chelsea’s two finest wingers are Pedro Neto and Estevao, each preferring the right. It is a role that their best signing of the Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital era – talisman Palmer – can also occupy.
Maresca sees a time when Estevao could play more centrally. The No 10 position can be particularly prized for Brazilians. Chelsea, however, have a contender who won them the Club World Cup, struck in the final of Euro 2024 and has scored 22 goals in a Premier League season.
“Now Estevao is playing wide but in the future, I think he’s more of an inside player,” Maresca said. Indeed, Estevao’s agent has stated that Chelsea presented him with a plan to develop him into a No 10. It would be instructive to know if that plan contained any reference to Palmer, the man who could be competitor, roadblock or sidekick.
It may be a long-term idea, anyway. If Estevao’s career has been that of a player in a rush, there are ways to play one centrally and the other on the right. So far, however, and largely because Palmer has been injured, Chelsea have only paired them on the pitch for 51 minutes. And the prospect of them together will not only be exciting for Maresca but ominous for any opponent.