Barcelona’s Lamine Yamal and Chelsea’s Estevao Willian are two of the best young players in the world.
In fact, Yamal has proven in the Champions League this season and at the Euros last year that he is the very best.
Next term, Estevao will get the chance to prove himself in Europe, with the winger set to move to west London this summer.
For the time being, Estevao remains at Palmeiras, where he is thriving. The Chelsea signing managed to score again on Thursday in a 2-0 win against Cerro Porteno.
Estevao’s goal against Porteno was his third in the Copa Libertadores, making it three in four games now.
Before that, Estevao also recorded an assist versus Ceara thanks to a fantastic free-kick. The 18-year-old is scoring and creating goals and has now been compared to Yamal after his latest display.
After the Porteno game, UOL columnist Danilo Lavieri said: “Today, it was really similar to Yamal in that sense [of dependence], Palmeiras would touch Estevao and hope he would resolve it. […] So, yes, Palmeiras passes the ball a lot to Estevao, but how can you not take advantage of the potential of a guy like him. How can you not take advantage of Yamal’s potential?”
Again, everyone is still waiting to see what Estevao can do in Europe. But based on everything that he has shown in Brazil so far, Chelsea fans will be optimistic that he can deliver in the Premier League.
At Chelsea, Estevao should get the chance to play alongside compatriot Andrey Santos. While Tottenham Hotspur are interested in Santos, as well as several other clubs, the expectation is that the midfielder will be part of Enzo Maresca‘s squad next season.
Estevao’s 2024 league stats
The new Brazilian league season only started in March and Estevao is yet to score in it. However, his numbers in 2024 were really impressive, especially given his age.
In 31 appearances, Estevao scored 13 goals. His assist tally was not bad either and again shows that he can also create.
| Appearances | Goals | Assists | Yellow cards | Red cards | Minutes |
| 31 | 13 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 2,113 |
Estevao may not be at Yamal level just yet, but he is certainly an exciting prospect who could light up Stamford Bridge next season.
