Absolute Chelsea
·31 de julho de 2025
Inside Chelsea & Enzo Maresca's personal plan for Estêvão Willian's arrival

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Yahoo sportsAbsolute Chelsea
·31 de julho de 2025
Estêvão Willian will join up with his Chelsea teammates at the club's Cobham training base on August 4 for the first time since joining on a permanent deal.
Chelsea managed to agree a deal worth an initial £29m deal with Palmeiras last summer to beat the likes of Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona to the highly-rated youngster's signature.
Estêvão was unable to join until he turned 18, which happened back in April, and it sees him finally making his transfer to Chelsea official this summer.
The Chelsea squad have already seen Estêvão play after the Blues knocked Palmeiras out in the Club World Cup quarter-finals last month, which turned out to be the teenager's final ever game for the club.
After their triumph at the Club World Cup, Chelsea went their separate ways for a three-week break before returning on August 4 for the beginning of their mini pre-season as they prepare for the upcoming campaign.
Cole Palmer spoke to Estêvão at full-time after Chelsea's 2-1 win. | IMAGO / Fotoarena
Estêvão won't be the only player linking up with his new teammates at Cobham. Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro all linked up with the Blues in the United States, so are yet to report to the training base for duty.
Ahead of his arrival at Cobham, Nizaar Kinsella of BBC Sport has revealed what Chelsea and Maresca plan to do to ease the Brazilian teenager into his new surroundings.
Chelsea will help Estêvão settle by aiding his search for a place to live in London. He will have his family with him in the English capital to help with the adaptation.
As noticed at full-time of Chelsea against Palmeiras when Dario Essugo helped translate a conversation between Cole Palmer and Estêvão, the youngster will 'intensify' his English studies once he arrives.
Estêvão Willian waving goodbye to Palmeiras fans. | IMAGO / Xinhua
The language barrier is not set to be a problem to begin with. With head coach Maresca fluent in several languages, including English, Spanish, Italian and French as heard at the Club World Cup, the Blues head coach will be able to converse with Estêvão.
Nizaar Kinsella also reports that there is 'optimism that Estêvão will adapt quickly to English life, as he does not drink and is known for being a laid back person'.
Palmer is relishing the link up with Estêvão, telling DAZN: "You can see he's a top player, so we're excited for him (to join us)."
Chelsea face Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan in their final two fixtures before the season gets underway. It could give Estêvão his first chance to play in front of his new home crowd at Stamford Bridge.