Chelsea fans must wait a little longer still before Estevao Willian is finally wearing their shirt.
It’s nearly a year since Chelsea confirmed that Estevao Willian would be joining them at Stamford Bridge in the 2025 summer transfer window.
The 18-year-old attacker is currently with Brazil’s national side for two important World Cup qualifiers. Afterwards, he will play his final matches for club side Palmeiras at the Club World Cup before his move to West London.
Estevao is working under legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti, 65, for the very first time this week. The former Chelsea boss was recently appointed head coach of Brazil’s national team, and he gets underway with matches against Ecuador and Paraguay.
Ancelotti is overlooking Brazil’s training sessions, which include Chelsea youngsters Estevao and Andrey Santos.
Carlo Ancelotti raves about Estevao Willian after great first impression
Ancelotti has been left with a great first impression after meeting and working with Brazilian rising star Estevao for the first time.
Ancelotti told Globo: “I knew Estevao, I didn’t see him in person, I only saw him on video, on TV. I saw what everyone sees: he has an extraordinary, special talent, but he’s young and has to learn things. I got to know his character, he seems like a humble, good kid, with drive and personality. That seems good to me. I always say that young players have to be careful, be patient, just like he has to be patient to find his place. Obviously he has all the characteristics to be an important player in the future of the national team.
“I can’t tell Estevao how to dribble. He knows better than me. What I can tell Estevao is to work hard defensively to help the team and, with the ball, to be as creative as he is.”
With Ancelotti speaking so glowingly about Estevao, Chelsea supporters are going to be elated and super excited about his arrival next season.
Brazilian media have compared Estevao to Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona and Spain superstar. It highlights the kind of expectation on the teenager’s shoulders already before he’s even kicked a ball in European football.
However, he will soon be arriving at Chelsea with a decent amount of experience under his belt already.
| Team | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Palmeiras | 78 | 26 | 15 |
| Brazil | 4 | 0 | 0 |
Jason Cundy suggests Estevao needs time and patience to find his feet at Chelsea, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see him hit the ground running.
Carlo Ancelotti equally impressed by Andrey Santos
Like Estevao, Santos is another super talented Brazilian youngster preparing to break into Chelsea’s first team for next season. The 21-year-old midfielder, who was outstanding out on loan at Strasbourg last season, was included in Brazil’s senior squad for this June camp for the second time in his career.
Ancelotti has delivered a glowing verdict on the Chelsea talent after working with him this week.
He told Globo: “Andrey has a lot of quality, I didn’t know him very well. I’ve seen him in the last few days and he seems like a complete midfielder.”
Santos is firmly in Enzo Maresca’s plans at Chelsea going into the 2025/26 campaign, so we are excited to see what he will add to the midfield.
