Enzo Maresca has no doubts about the talent and versatility Estevao will bring to the Chelsea squad, but says it's important 'not to put him under pressure, to give him happiness, and to give him time'.

It was in June 2024 that the Blues agreed a deal with Palmeiras to sign the young winger. Yet Estevao couldn't join Chelsea until after his 18th birthday, so he continued his development with the Brazilian club.

Estevao established himself as a key figure in the Palmeiras attack in the year that followed and earned his first senior caps for Brazil. He also featured for Palmeiras at the Club World Cup and netted against Chelsea in the quarter-finals.

That proved Estevao's final game for Palmeiras before joining the Blues. He linked up with his new team-mates at Cobham this week and has undertaken pre-season training. His first Chelsea outing could come this weekend, as we face Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan in friendlies at Stamford Bridge as part of the VisitMalta Weekender.

Maresca has been impressed with what he has seen from Estevao thus far and believes the forward is capable of playing in any position in our attack. Yet he has called for patience, given the 18-year-old is living and playing outside of Brazil for the first time.

The Chelsea head coach explained: 'I met him for the first time in the USA when we played against Palmeiras. He’s a fantastic player. He’s very young, is a happy boy, and is always laughing. Typical for a Brazilian guy. We want to keep him happy.

'With him, we need to pay a little bit more attention [than other signings] because, first of all, he’s from another part of the world, and also he’s very young. So we need to pay attention, not put him under pressure, give him happiness, give him time.

'He needs to adapt, and hopefully we can give him minutes to make him even happier. But for sure, he’s a talented player.'

When asked where he envisages Estevao being deployed for the Blues, Maresca added: 'He can play everywhere, he’s so good.

'For me, he’s like Cole Palmer in terms of position. He can play outside, he can play inside. In our five attacking positions, for me, he can play everywhere.'

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