Chelsea's miserable form continues.
On Sunday, the Blues were beaten 1-0 by fierce London rivals Arsenal, ending the afternoon with a miserly xG figure of 0.36.
Martinelli-Cucurella-Timber-Partey
Enzo Maresca's side have therefore now lost four successive Premier League away games, meaning their chances of Champions League qualification are under serious threat, with nine matches still to play.
One Chelsea player in particular is coming in for serious criticism, so will his spot in the lineup be taken by a highly-rated youngster set to arrive in West London as soon as this summer?
Jadon Sancho's continued poor form
During a round of interviews last week, Manchester United minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe labelled many of the club's players as “not good enough” and “overpaid”, choosing to namecheck the players he believed fit into those categories, an interesting decision, namely Rasmus Højlund, André Onana, Antony, Casemiro and, of course, Jadon Sancho.
sancho-chelsea
Sancho joined Chelsea on loan from Man United last August, with a reported option to make this deal permanent for £25m next summer, and Football Insider believes the Blues intend to activate this clause, but only 'if they qualify for next season’s Champions League'.
However, former Chelsea defender William Gallas stated that even though Sancho is "a talented player... he can’t stay at Chelsea because he has to do more", adding "we don't know why he can't perform".
Sancho created no chances, made no key passes and had no shots during his 76 minutes on the pitch against Arsenal, which simply wasn't good enough, particularly when Chelsea really needed him to step up in the absence of Cole Palmer.
So far, Sancho has racked up just two goals and six assists across all competitions this season, thereby averaging a goal involvement every 216 minutes, both his goals coming back in early-December, while he's also failed to muster a shot on target during 11 of his 23 Premier League appearances for the club.
Thus, whether the England international remains a Chelsea player come next season, he's likely to have been usurped in the pecking order by the Blues' next wonderkid.
Chelsea's next young superstar could replace Sancho
Last July, it was announced that Chelsea had signed Palmeiras forward Estêvão Willian for a reported fee of £29m, with the Brazilian arriving this summer, following his 18th birthday, which is on 24th April.
estevao-willian-palmeiras-brasileirao-1
Despite the fact he's still only 17-years-old, Estêvão has already made 59 appearances for the Verdão, scoring 20 goals and accumulating ten assists, winning a Brasileirão title and the Paulistão, earning four caps for senior Brazil to date, again called up by Dorival Júnior's ahead of huge World Cup qualifiers against Argentina and Colombia this week.
His performances have earned rave reviews, labelled as a "future Ballon d'Or winner" by data analyst Ben Mattinson, while Palmeiras manager Abel Ferreira claimed "he is different from anything I’ve ever seen", with Mauricio Alencar of the Athletic reporting that Estêvão is 'excited to join Chelsea'.
Meantime, in an interview with Thiago Rabelo of the Guardian, Estêvão revealed he's been in contact with Cole Palmer via Instagram, the pair agreeing "we’re going to do a lot of great things together for Chelsea".
So, that combination is an exciting one. Yet, whose minutes could he take? Well, the Brazilian is traditionally a left-footed right-winger who can also play off the left, meaning he would be seeking to take Sancho's spot in the side. Thus, let's assess how the duo compare.
Estêvão vs Sancho comparison (2024-present)
Statistics
Appearances
Minutes
Goals
Assists
Shots per 90
Shots on target %
Take on success %
Progressive carries per 90
Shot-creating actions per 90
Goal-creating actions per 90
Touches per 90
Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and FBref.com
As the table underlines, Estêvão is a significantly greater goal threat than Sancho, registering more goals, assists, shots and chances created, while the Englishman is a marginally better dribbler and has slightly more touches per game, but that's all.
estevao-willian
Nevertheless, it is clear that the Brazilian teenager is Chelsea's future, set to go straight into their first team next season.
Blues supporters could get their first glimpse of him at this summer's Club World Cup, with Palmeiras and Chelsea, potentially, set to meet in the quarter-finals of that competition, with Estêvão revealing he would celebrate, should he score against his future employers.
Arsenal-Nwaneri-Chelsea-Palmer Related
Worse than Sanchez vs Arsenal: 3/10 flop must not start for Chelsea again
This Chelsea underperformer put up in an even more abject showing than Robert Sanchez.