Enzo Maresca criticised for what he’s doing with Chelsea wonderkid Estevao Willian

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Enzo Maresca has opted for a cautious approach with Chelsea talent Estevao Willian during his first few months at Stamford Bridge.

Unlike most teenagers, Estevao Willian arrived at Chelsea in the summer from Palmeiras with huge expectation and pressure on his young shoulders. Remarkably, the 18-year-old has responded by taking everything in his stride to become an instant fan favourite.

The left-footed attacker, who commonly plays on the right wing, has already started to play regularly for Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil side. He’s still trying to force his way into the preferred Blues XI under Enzo Maresca, though.

Here is a look at Estevao’s record across all competitions so far in his Chelsea career:

Estevao, who’s been tipped to emulate Eden Hazard, has started just four Premier League games so far. Although we understand Maresca is slowly integrating the South American wonderkid at the start, it feels like he’s banging down the door to start every game with how well he’s playing.

• READ MORE: Estevao Willian training ground clip shows just how ridiculous Chelsea winger is

Enzo Maresca told he needs to start Estevao Willian

Ahead of Chelsea’s trip to Tottenham on Saturday in the Premier League, ESPN pundit Steve Nicol has insisted that Estevao needs to start.

Nicol told ESPN: “I don’t understand why he doesn’t play Estevao from the start. I really don’t. You’re talking about how do Chelsea take the step forward. Well, how about you play [Pedro] Neto on the left, you play Estevao, and then you play Joao Pedro? Then you’ve got [Moises] Caicedo and [Enzo] Fernandez behind that. I mean, that’s a great weapon there, the five of them.”

It feels inevitable that Estevao will soon break into Chelsea’s strongest XI.

When the Blues travel to Spurs this weekend, it could be the perfect opportunity for the Brazilian talent to start and shine in a fixture that means a lot to supporters.

Estevao impressed in midweek against Wolverhampton Wanderers during the Carabao Cup victory, scoring a delightful chipped goal. Most importantly, he was substituted off on the hour mark, so perhaps Maresca had one eye on the Spurs showdown.

Chelsea’s wide options

Of course, Maresca needs to rotate his side to cope with the busy fixture schedule. However, he needs to try to find a settled side for the Premier League.

At the moment, Pedro Neto and Alejandro Garnacho are starting in the last few league matches, but they’ve got Estevao and Jamie Gittens breathing down their necks.

We would love to see Estevao get a run of consistent starts on the right wing because we’re confident he’ll only get better and better.