Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca was left impressed by Estêvão Willian during the Blues’ Club World Cup quarter-final victory over Palmeiras, as he labelled the teenager a “huge talent”.
The Premier League side reached the semi-final of the revamped tournament by virtue of a 2–1 win over the Brazilians in Philadelphia on Friday night. Estêvão, who has joined Chelsea for an initial £29 million ($39.6 million) from Palmeiras but remained with them for the Club World Cup, cancelled out Cole Palmer’s opening goal with a slick finish from an acute angle.
However, Chelsea advanced by virtue of an Agustín Giay own goal seven minutes from time. Thiago Silva’s Fluminense are up next for the Blues.
The west Londoners have again been very active in the transfer window, with João Pedro and Jamie Gittens joining Liam Delap in a bid to rejuvenate their attack. Estêvão, meanwhile, is expected to be a part of Maresca’s first-team squad next season, and there may well be an opportunity for the teenager to carve out a starting role with Noni Madueke of interest to Arsenal.
There were chats with the Brazilian starlet post-match, with Cole Palmer humorously admitting that Estêvão didn’t understand a word the Mancunian said when the pair embraced. Maresca, though, seemed to get through to the exciting young winger.
“Estêvão, I spoke with him for the first time after the game,” he told his press conference. “I told him that it’s been the perfect night because we won, he scored. So it’s been perfect for us and for him.”
The Chelsea manager then went into more depth about Estêvão’s performance, which was his best at the Club World Cup: “Very good, very good. You can see that he’s a huge talent. You can see that he’s a fantastic player.
“And the only thing for me is when you come from South America or in general from the other part of the world, Europe, you need to adapt. So, we're going to help him to adapt.”
The 18-year-old has flashed glimpses of his precocious talent in the United States, with many regarding him as the most gifted Brazilian starlet of his generation.
Acclimatising to Europe and the Premier League, in particular, will be tough, but it seems as if Chelsea have a plan in place to ensure his integration is seamless.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ’Huge Talent’—Enzo Maresca Waxes Lyrical Over New Chelsea Signing.