The 18-year-old made his long-awaited move to Chelsea in the summer, joining just over one year after the Premier League side agreed the deal with Palmeiras. Regarded as one of the best young players on the planet, he’s already making an impression.
Estevao produced one of the best moments Chelsea have experienced since the Clearlake takeover in their late 2-1 Premier League win over Liverpool, scoring the winner in the 95th minute.
With Cole Palmer dealing with a persistent groin issue, and other attackers yet to find their feet after a gruelling summer, should the little Brazilian be a starter for Enzo Maresca?
Momentum is on his side
Shortly after scoring the winner against Liverpool, Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti called the youngster up for his third national team selection, this time for the October friendlies against South Korea and Japan.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager handed Estevao the opportunity to start alongside superstars Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, and Matheus Cunha for the game against South Korea, and he was arguably the best of them.
Estevao opened the scoring after just 14 minutes when Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes threaded a beautifully weighted pass into his path, allowing him to cooly slot beyond Jo Hyeon-woo to make it 1-0.
Rodrygo made it 2-0 just before the break, then a costly mistake from Kim Min-jae just after the restart handed Estevao possession on the edge of the box, and he once again beating the South Korean ‘keeper.
That’s three goals in 85 minutes for club and country, more than any other Chelsea winger has scored since the start of the season. As we all know, football is a confidence game, and the youngster is brimming with it.
Good numbers as others struggle
Estevao has had limited minutes in the Premier League so far as Maresca slowly introduces him to the most demanding domestic division on the planet, yet he’s one of Chelsea’s most potent attacking threats, especially with Palmer sidelined.
He has the second highest xG with 1.6, behind Enzo Fernandez with 3.7. Estevao is level with the Argentinian when it comes to xG produced per 90 minutes, however, with them both on 0.54.
The youngster clearly isn’t afraid to have a go etither, averaging 1.4 shots per 90 minutes, with only the injured Liam Delap ahead of him, but as their number nine, taking shots is the very least he could do.
Dribbling is by far the best part of his game, just watching him it looks like the ball is glued to his foot, bringing back memories of the great Eden Hazard. No other Chelsea player has as many successful dribbles per 90 than Estevao with 3.7, and the closest winger is Jamie Gittens with 1.7.
Maresca continues to pick Pedro Neto ahead of Estevao as his preferred right-winger, and while the Portuguese’s work rate has made him a favourite, his lack of tangible goal contributions has become a frustration amongst fans.
Neto is a consistent creator for Chelsea having already produced nine big chances for the club, but it’s hard to imagine that Estevao wouldn’t have been able to produce similar, if not better, numbers if he was given similar minutes.
Growing versatility and a willingness to learn
During his time in Brazil, Estevao was very much a right winger. It’s been reported that one of the things that sold him on a move to Chelsea was that they saw him as more of a number ten, which would allow him to play with more freedom.
As a youngster, willingness to learn should be a foregone conclusion, and he clearly has just that, saying in a recent interview: "At Chelsea, I often play on the right. Even in training, I've played in various attacking positions to broaden my repertoire and have more options.
“I played on the wing; in the last match, I moved into the middle and stayed in the center. I'm open to different types of play, whatever is available, inside or outside. Here, I do what's best for the Brazilian national team."
If he wants to play in Chelsea’s number ten role in the future, he has the small matter of Palmer to contend with. Should the lanky genius pick up any serious injury, however, Estevao has the ability to fill in with little issue.
Verdict
Throwing such a young player in the deep end is high risk, but also high reward. Chelsea’s start to the season has been mixed, a lack of discipline has seen them already fall off in the title race, with questions starting to be asked about whether their Club World Cup triumph was a fluke or not.
Now they’re playing catch up, perhaps giving a fairly unknown quantity like Estevao a good run of games from the first whistle would be wise, although with Lamine Yamal as an example, his physical development should be the priority, rather than running him into the ground.