**Chelsea icon Eden Hazard has had some very complimentary things to say about summer signing Estevao.**
The 18-year-old has impressed fans and pundits alike since joining from Palmeiras in August, and asked for his thoughts on the teenager, Hazard replied:
“Woooohh! He’s still young, you know, he has a lot of things to do; a real top-class player.”
That is very high praise coming from a former player like Hazard, who was a world-class winger in his day.
Patience is needed with Estevao
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While the Brazilian international has put in some outstanding performances already for the Blues, he [**wasn’t particularly great against Napoli**](https://chelseanews.com/blog/chelsea-player-ratings-napoli/) on Wednesday night.
Head coach Liam Rosenior kept Estevao on for 75 minutes before replacing him, but it wasn’t really the forward’s night.
It can be easy to forget how young he is, and you do have to accept that at his age, there will be one or two off nights, but he clearly has the potential to go on to do great things, which Hazard also recognises.
While we may not see the best of Estevao this season, he could have an outstanding career at Stamford Bridge if his talent is nurtured in the right way.
Another of Chelsea’s South American imports has found it tougher
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It should not be forgotten that Kendry Paez joined the Blues at the same time as Estevao. There was just as much hype around the Ecuadorian when his signature was secured a couple of years ago.
Unlike Estevao, who stayed in London, Paez was sent to Strasbourg for the first half of this campaign, but he didn’t play as often as hoped. He is set to return to South America for a second loan spell of the season, with River Plate having reportedly snapped him up.
[**Read more about the Chelsea First Team Squad for 2025/26 here**](https://chelseanews.com/blog/chelsea-first-team-squad/)