Chelsea are beginning to see the fruits of their transfer strategy in going after young, talented individuals in recent seasons, with a youthful Blues side challenging for a spot in next season’s Champions League.
While some signings have failed to work out, such as Mykhalo Mudryk’s big-money move to Stamford Bridge, others, like Cole Palmer, have proved a masterstroke. The Chelsea hierarchy will still be hopeful many more can match the potential shown in glimpses, vindicating the club’s strategy in the market.
One, though, has now equalled a record first set by Neymar 15 years ago – and he hasn’t even played a minute for Chelsea yet.
Chelsea have already signed a player who has matched Neymar’s record
Neymar has recently returned to his boyhood side Santos following a difficult period in Saudi Arabia suffering from injuries, but remains arguably one of the best players in the world on his day. In his early years in Brazil, he rightly earned plenty of hype for his performances, with Barcelona eventually paying £71.5m to sign him in 2013.
And while a number of talented individuals have since emerged from Brazil in the meantime, with Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Endrick all moving to Europe at an early age, too, none have quite managed to match Neymar’s record of 30 goal involvements before their 18th birthday. That is, until now.
Chelsea agreed a deal worth £47m with Palmeiras for Estevao Willian in June 2024, agreeing for the youngster to move to the UK at the start of the 2025/26 season on July 1 when he has finally turned 18 and played for the Brazilian side in the Club World Cup this summer.
And it seems like the Blues could have the next superstar on their hands, following his equalling of Neymar’s 15-year record. After scoring twice against Sao Bernardo in the Sao Paulo state championship at the weekend, Estevao Willian registered his 29th and 30th goal involvement in Palmeiras’ first team.
In total, the left-footed right-winger has bagged 20 goals and layed on 10 assists in just 57 games of his professional career – and he still has plenty of time to add to those tallies considering he doesn’t turn 18 until April 24.
Estevao is no stranger to success, either, having already lifted Brazil’s Serie A title and Sao Paulo state championship in his fledgling career. Indeed, he has even won the Bola de Ouro, awarded to Serie A’s best player that year, something Neymar also achieved in 2011.
Those performances have seen him earn regular call-ups to the Brazil national team, too, with Estevao having already made four appearances.
In FourFourTwo’s view, there’s potential that Estevao walks straight into the Chelsea first team next season. The best talent from Brazil can develop into world beaters, and Chelsea will likely provide him with plenty of opportunitites to develop and excel in the coming years.
