Estevao Willian has been brilliant for Chelsea in his debut season at Stamford Bridge and is ranked among the most valuable young players on the planet at the moment
Estevao Willian has been nothing short of a revelation since signing for Chelsea last summer. The 18-year-old arrived in England with huge pressure on his shoulders, already having a reputation as one of the world’s most exciting young talents, but his adaptation has been fairly seamless.
Estevao has featured 34 times in all competitions this season, playing 1592 minutes, and scored eight goals and produced four assists. While his end product has been hit and miss, there is no doubting the excitement the Brazilian generates every time he touches the ball on the right wing.
The teenager is widely regarded as one of the world’s most exciting young talents. And, as per a study conducted by Sportingpedia, Estevao ranks as the fifth most valuable under-21 footballer on the planet – and the most valuable when it comes to the Premier League. Ahead of the Brazil international, whose value is calculated at €80million (£69.5m) are Lamine Yamal (€200m – £173.8m), Joao Neves (€110million – £95.6m), Desire Doue (€90million – £78.2m) and Arda Guler (€90million – £78.2m).
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Many people give Yamal the label of the greatest footballer around right now, though it is interesting that Estevao outshone the Barcelona winger when the two sides met back in November. Going into the Champions League league phase tie, many people were dubbing it as ‘Estevao vs Yamal’ – and there is no doubt who won that particular contest, with the Brazilian netting the Blues’ second goal in a 3-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.
Supporters have called on Liam Rosenior to use Estevao more but the Chelsea head coach told football.london in January that there is a duty of care when it comes to the teenager in his first season in a new country. “I understand why fans are frustrated when he’s not on the pitch because when you see him on the pitch, he just does magical things,” said Rosenior in mid-January.
“He’s 18 years old, he’s come from a completely different culture, a completely different way of playing, different weather and different intensity. ‘Protect’ is one word and I agree with that but ‘look after’ is probably a better team.
“I want him to have an outstanding career. I also want him to help us win now. There is a fine balance between the two.”
Estevao spent more than a month out of the action recently after hurting his hamstring, but returned to the pitch in the second half of the 3-0 defeat to Everton before the international break. The Brazilian winger started Saturday evening’s 7-0 thumping of Port Vale and scored Chelsea’s sixth goal in an impressive performance from the teenager at Stamford Bridge.
With a crucial match against Manchester City this weekend, Estevao has now put himself in contention to start back-to-back matches.
