Chelsea close to £56m deal for Brazilian ace also wanted by Barcelona
Chelsea are close to completing a £56million deal for Brazilian teenage sensation Estevao Willian from Palmeiras, talkSPORT understands.
The 17-year-old winger was also wanted for Barcelonabut the Blues have won the race to land one of the next future stars of the Brazilian pipeline.
Estevao has caught the eye of some of the world's top clubs after an impressive breakthrough in his homeland, but has been known as one of Brazil's top prospects for years.
Nicknamed 'Messinho' – or 'Little One' Messi' – because of the similarities between his playing style and that of the Argentine maestro, Estevao obtained a sponsorship contract with Nike when he was only ten years old, making him the youngest Brazilian to sign a contract with the global clothing giant sporty.
He began his youth career at Cruzeiro in 2017 before moving to Palmeiras in 2021, and made his senior debut for the Sao Paulo club in December 2023 at the age of 16.
To date, Estevao has only played 17 games with the Palmeiras first team, scoring three goals and giving one assist, but Chelsea Clearly I've seen enough to justify another massive transfer fee.
However, fans will have to wait to see the Brazilian wonderkid in action as he won't officially join the Blues until 2025, when he turns 18.
Estevao will sign a seven-year contract with the west London club, with the option of a further year.
The £56million package will make the teenager the most expensive export in South American football history once completed.
Neymar seemed to hold that record thanks to his £63 million transfer from Santos to Barcelona, before investigation into the deal discovered that £34 million of that fee actually went to Neymar's parents, with the Brazilian club only paying the remainder.
3
The great young talents of Brazil are usually captured by the Spanish giants, with real Madrid spending a combined £118m to land Vinicius Jr from Flamengo, Rodrygo from Santos and Endrick, who They finally arrive from Palmeiras this summer having reached an agreement for the first time to sign him again in 2022.
Chelsea – who actually First he struck a deal for Endrick.only for Todd Boehly to pull the plug, he hopes Estevao can emulate those stars in the Premier League when he finally arrives.
It has been an incredible six months for the youngster, who came from the youth ranks of Palmeiras, where he won four trophies in two different age groups, and played in the U-17 World Cup to become a regular starter for the club's senior team.
And it seems the links with Messi are not just for fun, as Palmeiras youth director Joao Paulo Sampaio is convinced that Brazilian youth international Estevao is destined for great success.
When asked how he compares to his Real Madrid-bound teammate Endrick, Sampaio told a Spanish outlet. AS: “Estevao has more technical talent than them, but he has not yet matured physically.
“He is a year younger and genetically he still does not have the physical constitution of the other two, but he is a super phenomenon.
3
“His left foot is really something special. The controls he makes are incredible and his speed with the ball is amazing.
“The Palmeiras photographer took a sequence of 100 photos of him running with the ball and in all of them he came out with the ball stuck to his left foot.
And asked where he feels most comfortable on the pitch, Estevao responded Sports world: “I can play on the right, but I feel more comfortable floating in the middle, so I am closer to the area.
“I can turn left, right and it is the place where I feel freest when playing.”
