Estêvão Willian Almeida de Oliveira Gonçalves (Franca, 24-4-2007)does not know the meaning of the word adaptation. He is used to entering without knocking and climbing the rungs two at a time… and three at a time.
The former Palmeiras player, signed for 45 million, has scored in the last three games he has played as a starter for Chelsea. In fact, in the 5-1 win over Ajax, he took away from Marc Guiu (19 years and 291 days) the privilege of being the youngest goalscorer (18 years and 181 days) for the Blues in the Champions League.
He can also boast of being the youngest assistant and the youngest Brazilian to score the winning goal in Premier League history. “Estevao is ‘top’. He will be a top player for this club in the next five or 10 years,” said Enzo Maresca, who preferred to be cautious… but has ended up giving in to the push of ‘Messinho’.
Estevao is ‘top’. He will be a top player for this club in the next five or 10 years
“I was wondering for a year and a half how I would feel being here, but my start at Chelsea has been much better than I expected. I have adapted quickly, on and off the pitch, I’m playing…”, the winger told Sky Sports.
With Brazil, he is also advancing at a record pace. He has four goals and three MVPs in 10 games (384′), only four as a starter. His scoring average – one goal every 94 minutes – is identical to that of Pele and superior to that recorded by Romario (101′), Zico (113′), Ronaldo Nazario (125′) and Neymar Jr. (135′). Since Antonio Coutinho in the 1960s, no one had scored as many goals (4) in their first 10 internationals
The friendly against Senegal (2-0) was another chance for him to ‘mark his territory’ with a trademark strike. The Chelsea winger is becoming more and more established with every game he plays on the right side of an attack that, while waiting to insert Raphinha, is made up of Cunha, Rodrygo and Vinicius.“Blessed problem,” Ancelotti will think, who, for now, is content to enjoy Estevao: “He has incredible talent. It’s a surprise to see him playing at this level at his age. He’s good at finishing, he’s got a lot of ‘magic’ and he works very hard. I can say one thing: Brazil, with Estevao, has a guaranteed future.”
He has incredible talent: he is good at finishing, has a lot of ‘magic’ and works very hard
He has just landed in Europe and his season is already close to double figures. He has four goals and one assist in 16 games (657′) for Chelsea and four goals in five games for Brazil. “We are lucky to have him and Chelsea are lucky to have him too,” says Ancelotti. Estevao ‘Maravillao’continues to shine.
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