Manchester United v Chelsea - Premier League
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been issued a warning (Picture: Getty)
Enzo Maresca has been warned not to pile pressure on Chelsea youngster Estevao, who has ‘done nothing’ so far in the Premier League.
The 18-year-old, widely regarded as one of the best young prospects in South America, was wanted by a host of top European clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal and Manchester United.
However, it was Chelsea who managed to secure a deal for the winger last year, with Estevao completing his £29 million move from Palmeiras over the summer.
The Brazilian has shown in flashes his frightening ability, most memorably coming off the bench to score the winner at Stamford Bridge against the defending champions Liverpool.
Maresca has been careful not to rush Estevao in the early stages since his move, giving him just four starts in the first 11 league games of the season.
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And former Liverpool winger John Barnes believes the Italian coach is taking the right approach with the teenager, who he believes has not yet proven himself to be anything other than a prospect so far.
‘Estevao is a young player who has come into the team and is doing well at the moment,’ he toldVideo Gamer.
‘However, I remember Jadon Sancho doing the same thing and based off that I tend to leave opinions on young players alone and wait for them to grow. We can’t start putting pressure on him yet.
FBL-EUR-C1-QARABAG-CHELSEA
Estevao has impressed since joining Chelsea this summer (Picture: Getty)
‘In reality, he’s had 10 good games… he’s done nothing! He’s got lots of potential, but we’ve seen that at Chelsea before and there’s lots of examples where it hasn’t worked out.
‘He’s not going to be a starter every week because they have so many players and all of a sudden, if he has a few below-par performances, we could be writing him off after another 10 games.
‘He has good potential, lots of ability and he can be a very good player, but at this moment in time he has done nothing and achieved nothing.’
Chelsea v Liverpool - Premier League
The Brazilian scored the winner against Liverpool earlier in the season (Picture: Getty)
Impressive displays in the Champions League against Qarabag and in the Carabao Cup versus Wolves have done little to slow down the excitement from Chelsea fans for their latest Brazilian talent.
Asked if it is proving difficult to stop the hype surrounding Estevao, Maresca recently said: ‘Absolutely, yes.
‘I said already twice the reason why fans pay tickets is because they want to see players like Estevao and like Cole [Palmer] because people are happy when they are on the pitch.
Chelsea v Sunderland - Premier League
Maresca has been urged to take his time with the teenager (Picture: Getty)
‘The only difference is Estevao arrived from Brazil, he needs to adapt a little bit.
‘Slowly, slowly, he’s going to start games for us in the future.
‘I was very worried before this game because they are the worst games, they are tricky games because everyone is thinking it’s going to be easy. I can understand first half people were not happy because we didn’t score, not because of the performance, to be honest.
‘And then when Estevao was on the pitch the energy raised because people loved that kind of player, so we are happy he can help the team and the fans can be happy.’
Speaking on international duty with Brazil, Estevao noted that Chelsea’s deep squad has helped him raise his levels even further since arriving in England.
‘I think it helps a lot because when the squad is strong, it ends up pulling everyone up,’ he said.
Of course, my competition is very tough with Enzo (Fernandez) and Moi (Caicedo), who are now among the top midfielders in the Premier League and doing a great job.
‘I believe the learning I’m getting from them is essential. We are very close, we’re always together, so I think this exchange that I’m having with them is helping me mature a lot.
‘And of course, it’s that famous healthy competition and we always want the best for Chelsea, which is our team. I know that this competition will keep raising the level more and more.’
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