Brazil starlet Estevao 'ready' for Chelsea move: Palmeiras coach

New Straits Times

13 hours ago

PHILADELPHIA: Palmeiras coach Abel Ferreira said he believes teenage prodigy Estevao Willian is ready to take the leap to the Premier League after he marked his farewell appearance for the Brazilian club with a goal against future employers Chelsea on Friday.
Estevao, 18, scored a fantastic equaliser in the Club World Cup quarter-final between the teams in Philadelphia but could not prevent Chelsea claiming a 2-1 win thanks to a late own-goal.
He will now complete a move to the London club, finally heading to England just over a year after Chelsea agreed to pay Palmeiras a reported 57 million euros ($67.1m), including bonuses, for him.
"I don't have sons, I have two daughters, but he is my son," Ferreira said after the match at Lincoln Financial Field, adding that he had exchanged words with Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca about Estevao.
"I spoke before with Maresca. He is a nice coach, and I told him that they bought an amazing player but more than this they bought an amazing person.
"He is an amazing player and I said that they need to take care of him and embrace him because for sure in the beginning he will make mistakes, but you saw today that he is a player with a lot of skills who can win a game on his own. He has that capacity."
Estevao was named the best player in the Brazilian league last year and has shown plenty of glimpses of his potential at the Club World Cup.
Now he must try to win a place in the Chelsea team in the face of stiff competition, with Maresca having a wide array of attacking options at his disposal.
"For sure he will need the support of the coach and directors because he is young and it is the first time he is leaving his country," Ferreira added.
"I told him it won't be the same because the sun comes out two or three times a year, the night comes early, but I believe Chelsea have all the conditions to support him.
"He is a fantastic player and I think he is ready."
Ferreira, the Portuguese coach who has been in charge of Palmeiras since 2020, earlier hugged Estevao in front of reporters, with the player smiling despite the disappointment of his team's exit.
Maresca said: "I spoke to Estevao for the first time after the game and told him it was the perfect night because we won and he scored.
"You can see he is a huge talent, a fantastic player, and the only thing for me is that when you come from South America or in general another part of the world to Europe, you need to adapt.
"So we need to help him to adapt and first of all to be happy, continue to enjoy football, but we don't have any doubt because he is such a good player that he is going to be a very important player for Chelsea."
Another future Chelsea player, Jamie Gittens, was in attendance in Philadelphia with the England Under-21 international winger joining from Borussia Dortmund.
"Jamie was here tonight and was on the pitch and will be with us for probably another day or two," Maresca said.