Cole Palmer no. 10 Estevao Jadon Sancho Joao Felix
© IMAGO
Brazilian attacking midfield sensation Estevao is set to join Chelsea this summer.
Estevao had just turned 17 when Chelsea announced his signing a year ago, and he will join the Blues once he turns 18 in April.
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Estevao, whose nickname is "Messinho" as his playing style is similar to Leo Messi, had broken through playing on the right-wing as Messi had and turned down many of Europe's elite clubs to sign with Chelsea.
Of his move to Stamford Bridge, his agent Andre Cury said: "Chelsea was the only club that saw Estevao as a 10 to play in the midfield," indicating that, like Messi, Estevao plans to move infield as he ages, adding: "so that also had a lot of weight on the decision.”
Do you think anyone told Chelsea's current no. 10, the 22 year-old hotshot Cole Palmer, about this decision?
Probably not, right?
READ MORE:Estevao issues BOLD Chelsea statement
Palmer could be moved to the wing in the position where he broke through at Manchester City and originally played upon his move to Chelsea.
Of course, he doesn't have any tremendous speed and that's part of why he struggled to break through at City and why he didn't really take off until joining Chelsea and being given a much freer role, eventually occupying that old-school no. 10 position.
Cole Palmer has been in superb form since joining Chelsea.
© IMAGO - Cole Palmer has been in superb form since joining Chelsea.
The Death of the No. 10
10's like Palmer have gradually been phased out in the modern game. An attacking playmaker given license to roam, to probe, to be the hub of the team's attacks in a way that maximises their incredible on-ball talent and minimises their lack of pace.
Players like that used to get pushed out to the wing, but that doesn't work in the modern game where any wide players must have pace and also the work rate to track back.
The shift in thinking has left lot of these players finding themselves without a position to play on teams.
Chelsea have Palmer firmly entrenched – so firmly that Jadon Sancho can barely get a game. Sancho is an incredible talent but, like Palmer, lacks the explosive pace to be a truly effective winger.
And unfortunately for him Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca has no desire to slow his side down by including Sancho and Palmer in the same team, astutely understanding that it rob the team of the pace it sorely needs.
So Sancho barely plays, and when he does he looks a shadow of himself.
But perhaps not playing and being thought a scrub is better than playing and removing all doubt? Joao Felix is another flouncy little genius no. 10 who lacks any real pace, so cannot play out wide with any sort of consistency.
The idea of Joao Felix is always better than the reality.
© IMAGO - The idea of Joao Felix is always better than the reality.
Sancho and Felix: stuck
Chelsea signed Felix from Atletico Madrid last year in a questionable transfer. It was immediately realised that he couldn't displace Palmer from the starting XI and, like Sancho, could not play with the Englishman either.
Felix became a Conference League merchant until he finally got a big loan move to AC Milan in January, even scoring on his debut. But the forward then proceeded to get much worse very quickly, to the point where Milan's supporters have already grown sick of him. A process which usually takes a whole season, sped through in 60 days!
It has become clear that Felix will be returning to Chelsea in June when his loan deal runs out at the end of the season, although he could leave as soon as he returns if the Blues can find a new club for him.
And he may become aligned with Sancho in such a situation.
While Sancho is only at Stamford Bridge on loan, he has a mandatory buy clause which activates if Chelsea (currently 4th) finishes in the top 14.
Chelsea could pay €6 million to break that clause and not have to sign Sancho, but while that must be tempting they don't appear quite desperate enough to do that just now.
That means at the start of next season, Chelsea will have at least four 10's on their books. And of those four, three of them lack any sort of escape velocity and the other guy will be an 18 year-old prodigy the club has promise game-time at the no. 10 spot to.
And while Cole Palmer is the man holding the reigns, football's lack of use for no. 10's without escape velocity should give him much pause for thought.
If Sancho and/or Joao Felix couldn't play with him (and couldn't play anywhere else it seems) then what happens to him if Estevao is a big hit as a 10? Back to the wing in a role that limits his influence?
Man Utd to Palmer's rescue?
Chelsea are a fickle team. If they think the shiny new toy is better than the old one they will drop that old thing like Andy did Woody in the original TOY STORY.
Cole Palmer does not want to be Woody.
Having tasted being "The Man" at an big club in London, Palmer is not going to want to downgrade. Whereas someone like Sancho or Joao Felix, having already been humbled by football's cruel reality, may be more willing to accept a role as Estevao's back-up if it means getting to stay at Chelsea.
And if Palmer does leave Chelsea, where is he going? Very few clubs run a no. 10 these days (Joao Felix is struggling hugely at Milan) and those that do have the role filled: e.g. Bayern Munich have Jamal Musiala and Arsenal have Martin Odegaard.
Man Utd may be his last chance saloon, with Ruben Amorim's double 10 set-up in the 3-4-2-1 providing a platform for Palmer to work his magic. But would United commit massive amounts of money to sign Palmer when they already have Amad Diallo in that role and so, so many other needs that money could be better spent covering?
The last thing Palmer wants is to enter the kind of limbo that Joao Felix and Jadon Sancho now occupy. Players whose ability makes them too expensive for the mid-level clubs but whose profile is just not one elite clubs are looking for.
Obviously Cole Palmer is fine for now, but Chelsea's silly squad building and the footballing world's distaste for classic no. 10's with no pace could well stall, hurt or even kill Cole Palmer's blossoming career.