Teenager Estevao shows promise in Palmer absence

After Chelsea’s star man Cole Palmer was ruled out in the warm-up of the Premier League encounter at West Ham, teenage sensation Estevao Willian stepped up to show why Blues fans have been so excited about his arrival.

The 18-year-old replaced England international Palmer for his first Premier League start, but gave the ball away with a flick for Lucas Paqueta’s stunning sixth-minute opener for the hosts. Yet that didn’t faze the Brazilian forward as he proved why Chelsea were willing to pay £29m to bring him to Stamford Bridge, most notably with his first-half assist for Enzo Fernandez as the Fifa Club World Cup winners eventually cruised to a 5-1 victory.

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That smart run and pull-back for Fernandez’s close-range finish made Estevao, at the age of 18 years and 120 days, the youngest Chelsea player to assist a goal in the Premier League. “He needs to adapt, he needs to make many mistakes to understand how the Premier League is different to Brazil,” Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca told BBC Sport.

“We conceded after he did the flick. He needs to understand, but he is a fantastic player.”