A few weeks ago it looked as though Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea had turned a corner. Long gone were the messy days of Mauricio Pochettino, the turbulent times of Graham Potter. No, Todd Boehly had finally found his man. The good times were returning.
Well, perhaps we better pause for a second. The Blues had won five games on the spin in all competitions before they were halted in their tracks by Nottingham Forest prior to the international break.
They then suffered their first Premier League defeat since the opening weekend against Arne Slot’s Liverpool.
It wasn’t a great afternoon for the Londoners. Tosin was perhaps fortuitous not to see red in the first half, Robert Sanchez was suspect again and Cole Palmer was not at his fluid best.
An interesting statement was made before the game too by Maresca who left Mykhailo Mudryk out of the entire squad.
Why Mudryk missed out against Liverpool
Since moving to English football in January 2023 it has not been plain sailing for the Ukrainian winger. Far from it in fact.
Brought to the club in a mega £88.5m deal, he has thrilled supporters with his incredible speed but he is such a raw talent who currently lacks the tools to register consistent goal contributions.
Mudryk has scored just seven times in 66 games for Chelsea and is struggling big-time. There was no injury this time around. Maresca just left him out.
Their squad is still sizeable but the Italian boss clearly felt the likes of Joao Felix, Christopher Nkunku and Pedro Neto were better options on the bench.
It should be a rather large worry for the attacker who could well be considering his future at the Bridge ahead of January. How he must wish he’d joined fellow suitors Arsenal instead.
Unfortunately, things could get even harder in 2025 due to the arrival of a Ballon d’Or winner in waiting.
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Chelsea's future Ballon d'Or winner
Back in June Chelsea confirmed the arrival of Estevao Willian from Palmeiras. However, he won’t officially join up with the first-team squad until he turns 18.
He’ll be registered next summer and will finally take part in training, moving from Brazil where he has been a sensation.
Chelsea summer signing Estevao
Still only 17 years of age, the winger has been staggering in his homeland, registering 15 goals and ten assists during the 2024 season to date.
You can see why he’s being admired by many from afar but it’s Chelsea who will get to enjoy the fruits of his labour from next campaign.
Hailed as a “future Ballon d’Or winner” by analyst Ben Mattinson, the incredible teenager is already held in extremely high regard. Mattinson has declared that he boasts the ‘same level of talent to early Santos Neymar’ and that he is a ‘better prospect than Endrick’, the Real Madrid superstar who also moved to Europe from Brazil.
So, there’s a great song and a dance being made about him, but why? Well, Estevao is already proving himself to the one of the most dangerous wingers in the world.
Although a right winger by trade, you sense that he will eventually learn to play off both flanks and why not? This is a player who when compared to players in 14 leagues similar to the Brazilian Serie A, ranks inside the top 8% of wingers for progressive carries and the best 4% for successful take-ons per 90 minutes.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
On that evidence, he is an exceptional dribbler and manipulator of the ball. Unlike Mudryk, he’s also got the end product at the end of it all to back up his talents.
For context, while Estevao has 25 goal involvements for Palmeiras in 2024, at the same age, Endrick had just 15 contributions in his final full season with Palmeiras.
As for Neymar, he was amassing some totally ridiculous numbers, scoring 44 goals and assisting 17 throughout 49 matches in his final full year with Santos.
Games
225
Goals
136
Assists
64
Minutes played
18,138
Brazilian Cup
Won in 2010
Copa Libertadores
Won in 2011
Estevao may not be touching those sorts of figures yet but he’s somewhere in the middle of both Endrick and Neymar. That’s certainly not bad company, is it?
Chelsea are already blessed with a number of high-quality players on the flanks but the Brazilian could well be their most exciting yet. While the likes of Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho will back themselves to fight off the competition, you can’t imagine Mudryk having a similar level of confidence.
Perhaps once the Brazilian wonderkid does arrive, the former Shakhtar star will find himself on the scrap heap.
Chelsea nearly signed PL ace who's now worth £100m, they got Mudryk instead
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ByConnor HoldenOct 12, 2024