Arriving: Estevao
Chelsea Football Newsletter
The Brazilian winger joins from Palmeiras, where he established himself as one of world football’s highest-rated talents, racking up 42 goal contributions in 83 appearances.
He signed a pre-contract agreement with Chelsea in June 2024 as a 17-year-old but could not join up with the Blues until after his 18th birthday.
That milestone passed in April of this year, and he has now completed his move to west London, having represented Palmeiras at the Club World Cup. While there, he scored against Chelsea in a 2-1 quarter-final defeat, after which he was seen speaking with future teammates Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, and Dario Essugo.
“I am very happy, it feels very rewarding to represent Chelsea, one of the biggest clubs in the world,” Estevao said on arrival at Cobham.
“I had almost a year and a half to wait until I arrived here. But it has been a year and a half that I have worked hard and have done my best to get here in the best shape possible.
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“I am very, very excited. It is a new experience in my life, a new stage. I am looking forward to it and hope that it will go as well as possible.”
He could make his debut at Stamford Bridge as soon as this Friday, when Chelsea host Bayer Leverkusen in a pre-season friendly. Failing that, he could appear in a second friendly at the Bridge as the Blues host AC Milan.
While Estevao has enthused about the opportunity to join Chelsea, he has made no secret of his nerves about the move.
“It’s not easy, you have to keep your head here,” he said in June. “The closer it gets, the more anxiety sets in, the butterflies in your stomach.”
He is expected to play a first-team role under Enzo Maresca this season, but will have to compete with fellow new signing Jamie Gittens for minutes.