Enzo Maresca urges Chelsea fans not to put too much pressure on Estevao Willian

By Robert O'Connor, PA

Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca urged supporters not to place too much pressure on Estevao Willian following the Brazil international’s move from Palmeiras.

The 18-year-old’s £29million move to Stamford Bridge was first agreed in May 2024 but he remained in Brazil for a year, scoring against his new club in the United States when the teams met in the Club World Cup in July.

He finally made the move to west London this week having scored 27 goals and recorded 15 assists in his 83 appearances for Palmeiras.

Considered one of the brightest talents to come out of Brazil in recent years, Maresca is eager that expectations surrounding Estevao are moderated ahead of the new season.

“We need to pay a little bit more attention, because first of all he’s from the other part of the world and also he’s very, very young,” he said. “So we need to pay attention.

“As I said, (he is) not under pressure, give him happiness, give him time, he needs to adapt. Hopefully we can give him minutes, so he’s even more happy. But for sure, he’s a talented player.

“For me, the biggest mistake we can do with him is to put him under pressure. He’s very young, he needs to adapt.

“I met him for the first time in the USA when we played against Palmeiras. He’s a fantastic player, he’s very young, he’s a happy boy. He’s always laughing, typical from a Brazilian guy, and we need to keep him happy.”

Estevao is one of six summer signings expected to be part of Maresca’s squad this season.

And with 10 departures it has been another summer of change at the club’s Cobham training base.

Maresca has previously said he expects players to be able to play in a number of roles and wants at least two players for each position.

Nominally a winger, Estevao is likely to be deployed across Chelsea’s attacking line.

“He can play everywhere,” said Maresca. “He’s so good. For me, he’s like Cole (Palmer), in terms of – careful – he is like Cole in terms of his position.

“He can play outside, he can play inside, he can play everywhere. In our five attacking positions, for me, he can play everywhere.”

Maresca confirmed that defender Levi Colwill is a doubt for the start of the new Premier League season.

The Blues kick off at home to Crystal Palace on August 17 but after picking up a knock in training the 22-year-old could miss out, possibly opening the door to new defensive signing from Ajax, Jorrel Hato.

“We had a problem the last two days with Levi Colwill, that we don’t know how long he is going to be out,” said Maresca.

“So for us, we will see, hopefully not too long, but for sure it’s a problem for us. We need to wait, we don’t know yet.”