Willian Estevao: Enzo Maresca sends Chelsea star message amid calls for regular game time | OneFootball

Supporters are clamouring for starlet to start more games

Enzo Maresca has said he will continue to do what he feels is best for Estevao, despite growing calls to give the young winger consistent minutes.

The forward has impressed for the Blues when starting in the Champions League and the Carabao Cup, but has, as yet, struggled to nail down a starting berth in the Premier League.

The Italian has at times been critiqued for his less than sympathetic approach to player welfare, given his comments about Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’. The Blues boss says he is trying to protect the Brazilian.

“We just try to do the best for Estevao,” Maresca said at his pre-match press conference ahead of a clash against Wolves.

“We are helping him in terms of adapting to England. Again, last week he was complaining about it being cold. Last week was still October. Imagine December, January.

“He has to adapt. He's happy. He's doing fantastic. For sure, he's a talented player for this club.”

Maresca’s quip puts the teenager’s rapid rise into context. This is a young boy still finding his feet in a new country, all the while trying to perform in an increasingly inconsistent Chelsea side.

Estevao was one of three wingers to sign for the club this summer, and competition for minutes is fierce.

Maresca is not under any illusions that Estevao is ready to start consistently for Chelsea, but including him means dropping one of Pedro Neto or Alejandro Garnacho, who have both impressed this season.

It’s a nice problem for Maresca to have, and he is, understandably, relaxed about the situation.

“For sure, he's ready to start. But if Estevao starts, another one is on the bench. And probably the other one also wants to start,” Maresca continued.

On Neto, who is a doubt for tomorrow’s game against Wolves, and Garnacho, Maresca was full of praise for their defensive work, adding that it is an area in which Estevao is not as accomplished.

“We know that we cannot ask the same things of Neto as Estevao. We cannot ask Estevao to [drop] off and be a full-back sometimes like Pedro is doing because he's a different player [with] different quality, but for all of them need [to] sacrifice.

“It's on the ball and it's off the ball. It's the two sides that he (Neto) is doing fantastic.

“I think the other one that he's doing well, he's improving, and he has not stopped because I don't allow him to stop and to drop it's Garnacho.

“He's doing very [well] on and off the ball, but for me it's modern football. If you are able just to attack and you are not able to defend, you don't play many games.”