Chelsea already have £136m player set to be unleashed after statement transfer

Chelsea could very feasibly find themselves in a Premier League title race judging by their last few months both on and off the pitch. Enzo Maresca's side have lost just one of their last 12 games with two of those victories clinching trophies.

Courtesy of two three-goal margin victories, the Blues won both the Conference League and Club World Cup in the space of just 46 days.

Between those two triumphs, Chelsea strengthened their squad significantly with Dario Essugo, Mamadou Sarr, Liam Delap, Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens all joining. Jorrel Hato has also been brought in from Ajax and the world champions do not appear done there.

Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho are both being pursued with Chelsea aiming to significantly bolster their attack. That aim was actually somewhat completed the previous year when a bumper £55m deal was agreed to sign Estevao Willian from Palmeiras.

However, as he was not yet 18, the Brazilian wonderkid could not officially join until late April 2025 but with that date now having passed, the teenager was able to make his debut against Bayer Leverkusen in pre-season.

Just 18 minutes into his maiden appearance, Estevao scored his first goal for Chelsea when he reacted quickest to Cole Palmer's looped effort striking the bar. On several occasions during the first half, Palmer was looking to supply Estevao with it likely the Chelsea talisman was in agreement with Maresca's verdict on the Brazilian wonderkid.

“He can play everywhere,” Maresca admitted when asked about Estevao earlier this week. “He’s so good. For me, he’s like Cole [Palmer], in terms of - careful - he is like Cole in terms of his position.

“He can play outside, he can play inside, he can play everywhere. In our five attacking positions, for me, he can play everywhere.”

With Maresca's verdict in mind, it seems very likely that Palmer and Estevao will have many more chances to play together. Given his age, it is very likely that caution will be taken over how many minutes he is given, but it is undoubtedly clear he has the potential to unleash Palmer even further.

Including add-ons, Estevao could end up costing Chelsea more than the £42.5m it took to sign Palmer from Manchester City. By the week, that continues to look an absolute bargain with that point reiterated by CIES Football Observatory valuing him at a staggering £136m (€157m).

Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho also all look set to support Palmer with everything good done by Chelsea often going through him.

If the 23-year-old has another impressive season, Chelsea could very easily find themselves towards the top of the Premier League during the run-in and also in the later rounds of every cup competition, especially considering the squad depth Maresca now has.

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