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Chelsea's summer business has added much more depth for Enzo Maresca in what is set to be an extremely hectic season for the Blues.
The west Londoners - who were triumphant in both the Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup last season - are looking to fight on all four fronts this term, so it comes as no surprise that there were 11 additions in total. Some of them were pre-agreed and a few of them have gone back out on loan, but the likes of Alejandro Garnacho, Joao Pedro, Jamie Gittens, Jorrel Hato, Liam Delap, Estevao Willian, Dario Essugo and Facundo Buonanotte were all brought in for the season ahead.
Chelsea's penultimate signing of the summer transfer window came in the form of Garnacho. The Blues confirmed the signing of the Argentine winger with around 48 hours remaining of the summer transfer window. Chelsea reached an agreement with Manchester United for the 21-year-old's signature, with the Blues paying a fixed fee of £40million, football.london understands.
Garnacho prefers to play on the left wing and Maresca, speaking last week, confirmed that is where he sees the former United attacker. Maresca is excited to bring Garnacho into the side and sees him in a very similar vein to Gittens, who was also brought in over the summer.
"They are quite similar," the Chelsea head coach said when asked about Garnacho and Gittens. "In terms of, when we are looking for a winger, we like wingers who are good in one-v-ones, they are vertical, aggressive, they can attack, they can create something. Jamie is that profile and if Garnacho arrives [speaking before the move was officially confirmed], we will see."
A trip to Brentford is next up for Chelsea once the international break is over next weekend and there could be a debut for the Argentine. Whether or not he starts remains to be seen. Given the fact he has had little to no pre-season at United, there could be more of a settling in period in store for the attacker.
If he is to start on the left, then what does that mean for Estevao? The 18-year-old Brazilian has started the last two Premier League matches with Cole Palmer missing because of a groin injury and has flourished on the right wing, but one would assume the more experienced Pedro Neto remains the first choice for Maresca on that side.
With Estevao being used on the right, Neto has shifted out to the left-hand side. And while the Portugal international is always a threat, his best work for the Blues has been on the right wing. Garnacho coming in could see Estevao drop out of the XI, but that is to be expected at times given the development plan for the Brazil international.
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Maresca, speaking last month, warned that Estevao will need time to adapt to a new life in west London. While the former Palmeiras winger has settled in perhaps quicker than what was expected, the process is still ongoing. Maresca said: "I met him for the first time in the USA when we played against Palmeiras. He's a fantastic player.
"He's very young, is a happy boy, and is always laughing. Typical for a Brazilian guy. We want to keep him happy.
"With him, we need to pay a little bit more attention [than other signings] because, first of all, he's from another part of the world, and he's very young. So we need to pay attention, not put him under pressure, give him happiness, give him time.
"He needs to adapt, and hopefully we can give him minutes to make him even happier. But for sure, he is a talented player."
There is also the option for Estevao to shift into the No.10 role and Joao Pedro to move further up the pitch, especially with Palmer's fitness issues at the moment. Garnacho does add more competition - which is exactly what Chelsea want - and it is likely to mean less minutes for Estevao in the short-term at least; but that is no slight on the immensely talented teenager.
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