Wing wizards! Estevao backed to reach bar set by Eden Hazard & Arjen Robben as Chelsea fans ‘can’t get enough of’ Brazilian wonderkid

Having burst onto the senior scene in his homeland at Palmeiras, it did not take long for Estevao to attract admiring glances from heavyweight outfits across Europe. Chelsea ultimately won the race for a much sought-after signature, with a transfer package that could eventually be worth £50 million ($67m) being put in place.

After turning 18 and facing the Blues in FIFA Club World Cup competition, the highly-rated South American made his way to west London during the summer of 2025. The expectation was that he would be eased into new surroundings, rather than being thrown in at the deep end.

Chelsea did, however, endure collective struggles for consistency across the 2025-26 campaign. That gave Estevao early opportunities in which to prove his worth, with it not taking the youngster long to show why he is so highly regarded. Eight goals were recorded across 36 appearances in all competitions before suffering a hamstring injury that ended his domestic season and dashed World Cup dreams with Brazil.

There is the promise of more to come once back to full fitness, with ex-Blues defender Cahill - who was speaking exclusively to GOAL while attending an FA Cup-final themed Famous CFC event in the United States - saying when asked about Estevao’s potential: “I've been at the Bridge a few times this season and the fans can't get enough of him.

“He's one of those players where you can see the fans on the edge of their seat when he picks the ball up, which is what fans pay the money for, to come and see. In my day it was the likes of Hazard and Pedro, there's Willian, and the list goes on.

“It's those players that you're looking for to unlock situations, to create something out of the blue. You're waiting in these big moments, aren't you, for someone to unlock, someone to create something. He's somebody who can certainly produce that.

“And you look at his age, you'd imagine he's only going to get better and better. So it's exciting for the Chelsea fans. It's just a shame that he's taken a bit of an injury, but that’s part and parcel of the game. He is certainly a huge talent.”

Pressed further on whether Estevao is capable of scaling the heights that Hazard, Robben, Damien Duff, Willian and Joe Cole once reached, Cahill added: “100 per cent, that is the level.

“Unfortunately, you won't stand the test of time if you don't get up there in a Chelsea shirt. But what we've seen so far from Estevao is that he certainly can do that. It's just about him now to have the appetite to keep improving, to keep producing, to look at the players that we just said, but also create his own path and produce his own style of football.

“These kind of players, their job role is to create. So you look at somebody like [Cristiano] Ronaldo, for example, he's prided himself on the numbers in terms of what he’s done in the game. Have I scored? Have I assisted? And I think this is the kind of selfish streak he's got in him to go, ‘I need to affect the game, I need to affect the game every game I play in order to become a world-class player’.

“So, they're the next steps for him, but we're still talking about a young boy and he looks like he plays with a smile on his face, which is important. I'm excited about what the future holds for him.”

While Estevao will not be heading to the U.S. on international duty with his country, a big summer lies in store for North America. Cahill has witnessed impressive growth in that part of the world when it comes to interest in the most popular sport on the planet.

He said of the progress being made Stateside, with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi now one of the leading lights on show in MLS: “I have been coming since 2012, doing pre-season tours here to now post-career. I was here in Chicago, actually, a couple of years ago. And every time I come, I feel like the Premier League and the Chelsea fan base is growing all the time, which is great to see.

“The Premier League is, for me, the best league in the world. But they don't just watch it, they're passionate about it. And when you speak to them, you can tell straight away. When you're having a conversation with somebody who knows football and knows Chelsea and who's informed - they know the results, stats, this, that and the other - they're really passionate about it and it's good to see.

“Also, MLS is growing. Football, soccer, is definitely growing and I'm seeing that first-hand.”

Chelsea will be heading to Australia and Asia as part of their pre-season preparations ahead of the 2026-27 campaign - with fixtures being lined up against Sydney Wanderers, Tottenham, Juventus, AC Milan and Johor Darul Ta'z. They will likely return to America at some stage, as the Premier League giants continue to enhance their brand and mass appeal.

Gary Cahill was speaking in Chicago at The Famous CFC presented by Coors Light, the last stop of Chelsea FC's international fan engagement events in the 2025-26 season. The Famous CFC gives Chelsea fans from across the globe the chance to meet up with fellow Blues and enjoy Q&As, quizzes, games, and the opportunity to take a picture with the Premier League trophy.