Marc Cucurella is certain one of his Chelsea teammates will reach the level of Barcelona superstar Lamine Yamal ahead of their Champions League clash.
The Blues welcome the Spanish champions to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in a match between two of Europe’s best teams.
Some have framed the game as a clash between the best two teenagers in world football: Barcelona’s Ballon d’Or runner-up Yamal and Chelsea wonderkid Estevao Willian.
Yamal needs little introduction. The 18-year-old has already recorded a staggering 73 goal contributions in 118 games for his club and played a key role in Spain’s Euro 2024 triumph.
Estevao only moved to west London last summer in a transfer worth up to £51million but has quickly become a fan-favourite and while Maresca has been hesitant to start the 18-year-old too often, he is already a key player for Brazil.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro’s football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it’s an open goal.
Chelsea and Spain star Cucurella is teammates with both wingers and says Estevao already shares a lot of traits with Yamal.
‘They are both very special players,’ the left-back said in the pre-match press conference.
‘They have a lot of talent, they always want the ball, they always try to do the one-v-ones. These players can decide the games.
‘The only difference at the moment is that Lamine has played in Europe for a few seasons and Estevao arrived this season. But he’s doing really well and if he continues improving he can arrive at Lamine’s level.
‘They are both very funny, they enjoy the ball, they always have a smile on their face. If they are happy they can perform at the top level.’
Suggested to him that training against Estevao could prepare him for Yamal, Cucurella laughingly added: ‘I told Estevao to wear shin guards at training! I’m sure it’ll be a tough battle with Lamine.’
Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca also raved about Estevao in the press conference, but told his player not to concern himself with the comparisons to Yamal.
‘Estevao is already playing high level, he is already starting for Brazil,’ the Italian said. For sure he is very young, for sure he can do many things better, but we are very happy with him.
‘For me, it’s nice for people that love football to watch players like Estevao, like Lamine Yamal, like Pedri, this is the beauty of football. So we are happy that Estevao is with us, and for sure he is going to do well.
‘Estevao is going to be for sure an important player for this club for the future. For me personally, the most important thing for Estevao is that he has to enjoy football, he has to be happy.
‘He has not to think about being better than this player or the other player, he has just to be better than himself day-by-day, try to work hard, improve. Again for sure, he is going to be a top player for this club.’
Estevao is expected to start against Barcelona having been completed rested on the weekend as Chelsea beat Burnley 2-0, a result that has moved the Blues up to second in the Premier League table.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.