Chelsea have their next Hazard out on loan and he could soon rival Estevao
After a dramatic victory on Saturday night for Chelsea, everyone at Stamford Bridge is feeling optimistic once again.
At the weekend, the Blues beat champions Liverpool 2-1, thanks to an absolute rocket from Moisés Caicedo, before the winner came deep in stoppage time, with Marc Cucurella’s low cross turned home at the back post by Estêvão Willian.
Enzo Maresca was shown a red card following a José Mourinho-esque dash down the touchline, but he surely won’t mind too much, given that his side had yielded just a solitary point from their previous three Premier League matches, making this a much-needed statement victory.
Plenty of Chelsea players caught the eye, but is there a future young star, currently out on loan at… yes, you guessed it, who supporters should be even more excited about?
How Estêvão Willian has announced himself at Chelsea
As has been their want, Chelsea have signed countless young attacking players in the last three seasons, but few surely boast as much potential as Estêvão Willian.
Despite only celebrating his 18th birthday as recently as March, he has already earned seven senior caps for Brazil, scoring against Chile at the Maracanã last month, making 83 appearances for Palmeiras, scoring 27 goals and registering 15 assists.
With the Verdão, he won a Brasileirão title as well as firing the São Paulo-based side to the quarter-finals of last summer’s Club World Cup, on target against his future employers in defeat in Philadelphia in July, giving Chelsea fans an amuse-bouche of what he would bring.
Thus, by the time he arrived in West London, he did so with sky-high expectations; former Chelsea player and manager Roberto Di Matteo for one asserted that he will become one of the best players in the world.
Well, having been somewhat in and out of the team to date, Saturday’s last-gasp winner against Liverpool could be the moment Estêvão announces himself to the world, but do Chelsea have an even bigger talent waiting in the wings?
Chelsea's next Eden Hazard could rival Estêvão
Chelsea acquire so many attacking teenagers that one often wonders if they remember they’ve signed them all, but in Kendry Páez, they may have stumbled across a future world-beater.
In a deal agreed over two years ago, the 18-year-old arrived from Independiente del Valle this summer for a reported fee of £17.27m, before being immediately loaned out to Strasbourg; must’ve been some tough negotiations.
Despite his youthful age, he has already accumulated 20 caps for World Cup-bound Ecuador, scoring during just his second appearance for la Tricolor against Bolivia in La Paz, before also converting a Copa América penalty as his side beat Jamaica 3-1 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
His club performances in Ecuador, as well as in the Copa Libertadores, certainly caught the eye, with Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelling him a “pure quality talent”, while Jack Manship of Total Football Analysis praised his ‘remarkable feat’ and ‘dazzling’ dribbling ability, outlining how he can be both deployed centrally or on either flank.
Páez has adapted quickly to life at BlueCo’s other club, Strasbourg, scoring his first Ligue 1 goal last month, heading home at Stade Jean-Bouin as Liam Rosenior’s side beat Paris FC 3-2 in the capital.
So, let’s assess his statistics in France so far this season.
Minutes
355
10th
Goals
1
4th
Shots
7
4th
Shots on target
3
2nd
Passes into box
10
3rd
Progressive carries
13
2nd
Carries into box
7
1st
Attempted take-ons
12
5th
Touches in box
15
2nd
As the table documents, it is early in both Páez career in general but also his time at Stade de la Meinau, how ever long that may be, but he is already having an impact for les Bleu et Blanc.
His numbers in terms of progressive carries and carries into the opposition’s penalty area are both particularly eye-catching, reminiscent of, arguably, Chelsea’s greatest ever attacker, another winger who made his name in Ligue 1.
Before moving to West London in 2013, Eden Hazard featured 194 times for Lille, scoring 50 goals and registering 53 assists, winning both the Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France with les Dogues in 2011.
He would go on to star for Chelsea, scoring 110 goals in total, many of which were spectacular and mesmerising, none more so than this solo effort against West Ham in 2019, his best and final season for the Blues, scoring 21 times as Maurizio Sarri’s side picked up the Europa League trophy in Baku.
Well, if Páez turns out to be half the player Hazard was, the £17m paid to secure the teenager’s signature will prove to be money well spent.
In wide attacking areas, Alejandro Garnacho, Jamie Gittens, Pedro Neto and match-winner Estêvão all featured during the victory over Liverpool, not forgetting the injured talisman Cole Palmer, but Páez could prove to be the best of the lot.
83 touches, 8 duels won: Chelsea star is even more undroppable than Caicedo
Estêvão Willian’s stoppage time winner saw Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 on Saturday, but another star in Blue impressed even more than Moisés Caicedo.
ByBen Gray