With so many new arrivals at Chelsea this summer, Jamie Gittens has perhaps gone under the radar. He certainly impressed with his debut performance in the pre-season win on Friday night, though.
Chelsea beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in a pre-season friendly, with goals from summer additions Estevao Willian and Joao Pedro.
Jamie Gittens, who turned 21 yesterday, enjoyed an impressive cameo on his birthday during his first-ever Blues appearance. The left-winger showed some incredible pace and directness to give fans a glimpse of what he’s been doing in Borussia Dortmund colours for the last few years.
Minutes played Total shots Accurate passes Chances created Touches in opposition box Successful dribbles Match rating
27 1 8/9 (89%) 2 4 1/1 (100%) 6.6
Jamie Gittens statistics from Chelsea vs Bayer Leverkusen via FOTMOB
Reports claim that Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca believes Gittens can thrive in his system. Of course, we will see how the English youngster settles into life at Stamford Bridge, but we agree that the rapid wide player looks like a natural fit.
Jamie Gittens playing for Chelsea against Bayer Leverkusen in a pre-season friendly at Stamford Bridge.
Photo by Domenic Aquilina/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Jamie Gittens claims Estevao Willian has been incredible in training
Without a doubt, Estevao’s debut performance in the win against Leverkusen stole the headlines. The 18-year-old Brazilian attacker looked extremely threatening from the right wing, plus he even popped up in a central No.10 position in the second half.
According to Gittens, Blues teammate Estevao impressed everyone in training before shining in Friday’s friendly match.
When asked about Estevao’s unofficial Chelsea debut, Gittens said via HaytersTV: “It was amazing. You’ve seen the Joga Bonito. He’s a great player with so much skill and so many attributes, so it was good to see him play and score.
“We see it in training every day. He’s been here for a week, and he’s already done mad things in training, so to see it today was just one part of him doing it every day in training.”
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Gittens is a street footballer with incredible technique and close control, so for him to be wowed by Estevao in the first week of pre-season is quite telling.
After his incredible impact against Leverkusen, Chelsea supporters waxed lyrical about Estevao. It certainly adds more fuel to the fire regarding the hype and excitement about the teenage wonderkid, so we’re eager to see how quickly he can break into Maresca’s starting line-up.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink loved Estevao’s Chelsea display, claiming the youngster plays with “guts” and he does the work off the ball that not a lot of modern wingers like to do.
Estevao Willian and Moises Caicedo during a Chelsea training session at Cobham.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Estevao Willian reacts to Chelsea debut
On Instagram, Estevao uploaded a message straight after his eye-catching Chelsea display against Leverkusen.
With just over a week until Chelsea kickstart their Premier League season at home to Palace, Estevao must already be in the manager’s thinking to play that league fixture. Even though you should never get too carried away by pre-season, the way that the Brazilian teenager slotted into the side so effortlessly must be a good thing.
Shaun Wright-Phillips urged Estevao to keep his style, and the very early signs are that he will attack with freedom on the football pitch.