Telegraph: Fans fear Estêvão will become Chelsea’s next Salah or De Bruyne

According to Jason Burt, Chief Football Correspondent of The Telegraph football, Estêvão's continued lack of playing time at Chelsea has raised concerns among fans about his future. They worry that the Brazilian prodigy could become another young player who failed to get enough opportunities at Stamford Bridge and then thrived elsewhere after leaving, as Salah and De Bruyne did. Several Premier League and European clubs are currently monitoring Estêvão's situation.

In Chelsea's 1-2 loss to Liverpool on Wednesday, which knocked them out of the League Cup before the quarter-finals, manager Xabi Alonso again left Estêvão out of the action, even though Cole Palmer and João Pedro were both unavailable. The 19-year-old Brazilian forward stayed on the bench for the entire match. Alonso's comments about him after the game were also fairly cautious.

Alonso said: "I understand Estêvão's current situation. He wants to be happier, to get playing time and to be part of the team. Opportunities will come for him, and I believe Estêvão will have his moment. That is my responsibility. The season is long, and everyone will get a chance. Trust me, Estêvão will play a role in this team."

In the second half, the Chelsea fans who had travelled to the match chanted Estêvão's name in support, but Alonso instead gave Emmanuel Emegha his debut. When the game went to a penalty shootout, Alonso did not consider letting the Brazilian take a kick either, even though Estêvão had scored 8 of his 10 career penalties before this.

Ironically, Chelsea's last victory over Liverpool came in October last year. Estêvão had just joined the club and scored the winning goal against Liverpool, then the Premier League champions.

This season, Estêvão has made 11 appearances under Alonso but only 2 starts, both in earlier League Cup rounds against Luton and Leeds United. In the Premier League, he has played only 47 minutes, all as a substitute in 3 matches. The Daily Telegraph believes that, despite his limited playing time, Alonso is clearly not yet satisfied with what he has shown in those opportunities.

This season, Estêvão has also played in 3 friendlies for the Brazilian national team, totalling 172 minutes, which is more than his Premier League minutes for Chelsea. His only goal this season was also scored for Brazil, against India.

Last season, Estêvão had a breakthrough campaign at Chelsea, making 36 appearances and scoring 8 goals, including 3 in the Champions League. He was expected to be part of Carlo Ancelotti's Brazil squad for the last World Cup but was ruled out by a hamstring injury. Given his current playing time, it will be difficult for him to match last season's appearance total, especially as Chelsea have no European fixtures this season.

Meanwhile, dissatisfaction is growing in Brazil with Chelsea, and Alonso in particular, over how Estêvão is being used. As the young star, regarded as the future hope of Brazilian football, continues to lack opportunities, outside criticism is mounting. If his playing time remains restricted, Chelsea are expected to receive loan enquiries from other clubs as early as January, though the club is likely to reject them.

Estêvão also faces strong competition. The attacking trio of Palmer, João Pedro and Morgan Rogers is performing well and is considered one of the most dangerous attacking combinations in the Premier League. Estêvão also appears not to have fully adapted to Alonso's preferred tactical system.

Chelsea signed Estêvão from Palmeiras in 2024 for an initial fee of £29 million, and he officially joined the following year after taking part in the Club World Cup. At the time of the signing, his agent, André Cury, said Estêvão could adapt to any style of play and revealed that Chelsea wanted to use him as a number 10 to help him develop further in central areas.

Since arriving at Chelsea, however, Estêvão has mainly been used as a winger, and he does not appear to have gained Alonso's full trust in the manager's preferred 3-4-2-1 formation. It is understood that Alonso's reluctance to play Estêvão stems mainly from the player not currently meeting his tactical and positional requirements, rather than from any other reason. Even so, the situation will inevitably concern the player.

Estêvão is still very young and has plenty of time to develop, but with Palmer's suspension over and him rejoining the squad, Estêvão is not widely expected to start Saturday's home game against Man United.

Another route to playing time is competing for the right-wing position, but Pedro Neto operates mainly as a wing-back, and Alonso highly values his work rate both in attack and in defence. That role is not Estêvão's strongest area.

All of this contrasts sharply with the situation in March this year, when a giant mural of Estêvão appeared on a building near Stamford Bridge. The mural has since been removed, but it was once widely believed that he, rather than the out-of-form Palmer or João Pedro, would become Chelsea's future marquee player.

Chelsea have consistently maintained that Estêvão is one of the club's untouchable assets and an important representative of its global brand. It is understood that the club also hopes to improve his current contract, which runs into the 2030s, and clearly wants to keep the Brazilian prodigy.

However, if Estêvão continues to struggle to secure enough playing time, contract negotiations could become more difficult, and the club's determination to keep him will be tested.

Estêvão quickly became a favourite with Chelsea fans after joining. In November last year, during Enzo Maresca's tenure, Chelsea beat Barcelona 3-0, and Estêvão scored a spectacular individual goal in the match, showing why he was dubbed "Little Messi" early in his career.

Chelsea now face a question: can this Brazilian talent truly develop at Stamford Bridge, or will he become another player who fulfils his potential only after leaving the club?