Chelsea's Estevao to 'seize every opportunity' after falling behind Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro

Estevao is determined to "seize every opportunity" he gets at Chelsea, having found himself behind Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Joao Pedro in Xabi Alonso's pecking order.

The Brazilian arrived at Stamford Bridge from Palmeiras in 2025 and appeared 36 times across all competitions for the Blues in his debut season at Stamford Bridge.

Across those outings, 20 of which were starts, he scored eight goals and laid on three assists, while ranking second for dribbles attempted (133) and third for dribbles completed (58) among all players in Chelsea's squad, despite his relative lack of gametime. 

The 19-year-old would have been hoping to kick on at the start of 2026-27, following Xabi Alonso's appointment as head coach, but he is yet to provide a goal involvement in six outings and has only started twice.

While Pedro Neto has found a new role at wing-back in Alonso's 3-4-3 system, the attacking trio of Palmer, Rogers and Joao Pedro have been highly impressive.

Of the Blues' 10 Premier League goals this season, only one – Romeo Lavia's opening goal in a 4-3 win over Brighton – has not involved at least one of that trio as the scorer or the assister.

Estevao understands the form of Chelsea's other attackers has limited his opportunities, but he hopes to make a big impression when he gets a chance. 

"I think every coach has their own way of playing. Of course, we work every day, I give my best every day, and that's what I do," Estevao said at a press conference while on international duty.

"We have quality players at Chelsea, so what I do is focus on what I can control. I try to give my best in training. When I get an opportunity, I try to give my best, day after day.

"I try to seize every opportunity I have, control everything I can, and I leave it in God's hands, and I trust myself a lot, too."

Estevao has only played 148 minutes in all competitions for Chelsea this term, compared to 578 for Palmer and 552 for Rogers, with those figures making them the Blues' two most-used players. 

Joao Pedro has played 377 minutes, having missed last Friday's 3-0 defeat to Brentford due to a knee issue.

That injury caused the striker to withdraw from Brazil's squad, but Estevao will hope to rack up some minutes when the Selecao face Australia (twice) and India in friendlies.