Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is mismanaging Estevao with his stop-start appearances, according to former Brazil midfielder Sandro.
Estevao, widely considered to be one of the best young players on the planet, arrived at Stamford Bridge this summer from Palmeiras.
Mainly operating as a right winger, the 18-year-old has shined in the Champions League this term with three assists across five matches.
But in the Premier League, Estevao has only started six of Chelsea’s 16 games, coming on for just nine minutes against Everton last week, before he was omitted from the squad for the Carabao Cup win over Cardiff.
Ahead of Chelsea’s next fixture against Newcastle on Saturday, Sandro has told Maresca that Estevao ‘should be playing every game he can’.
‘I don’t agree with how Enzo Maresca is managing Estevao at Chelsea,’ Sandro told Boyle Sports, who offer the latest football betting.
‘You have an amazing player in Estevao. He has a good moment and then you stop playing him. He should be playing every game he can.
‘I don’t understand what’s going on to be fair because what he’s showing, the way he’s playing, I don’t know what they are saving him for.
‘Gareth Bale played every game for us at Tottenham. You have to enjoy these players and these moments.
‘There are ups and downs but come on, you stand the player down and his confidence will go away.
‘Chelsea have to manage that better. He needs to play. Put him in the team and boom, he will play, and that would be good for Chelsea as well as Brazil.’
Former Chelsea star Pat Nevin, meanwhile, has defended Maresca over Estevao’s playing time – but says it could become a problem next season.
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‘I think as a young player you kind of get it,’ Nevin told CasinoHawks. ‘It’s actually a bit easier for the modern player because rotation is such a large part of the game.
‘Players being rested, rotated, all that sort of stuff is just the norm. In times gone by, you probably had quite a small squad and you’d better be ready to play because there were limited options.
‘Now, of course, you get five substitutes, so you’ve always got a chance to affect the game, and there’s a game every three or four days.
‘So, to be honest, it’s not something I think should over-concern a young player coming through.
‘In a year’s time, two years’ time, will he feel the same? Probably not, and rightly so. Absolutely rightly so. Because when you’re 19, 20, you want to be playing every single week, if you’re fit. So, it’s not there yet. It’s not a panic yet. It’s not a worry yet.
‘But if he’s playing and improving to the standard he’s capable of doing, like Cole Palmer, he’ll expect to start every week from about a year from now, I guess.’