Former Chelsea player and manager Roberto Di Matteo says he has been pleasantly ‘surprised’ by one among Enzo Maresca’s stars this season.
After a shaky begin to the campaign, Chelsea have found top form, losing just one among their last 11 games, a run that features impressive wins over Liverpool, Tottenham and most recently Barcelona.
This way has seen them climb to second within the Premier League ahead of Sunday’s huge clash against leaders Arsenal. Victory at Stamford Bridge would see the Blues near gap to only three points.
Maresca’s squad is brimming with top talent like Marc Cucurella, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez but it surely is one among their promising children who’s getting the fans excited.
18-year-old Estevao moved to west London last summer in a transfer price as much as £51million but many already imagine the winger is destined to develop into among the finest players on this planet.
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Already a key player for the Brazil national team, he has scored five goals in 17 appearances this season, most of which within the Champions League, with Maresca hesitant to begin him within the Premier League.
Supporters are clamouring for Estevao to be within the line-up against the Gunners and Di Matteo admits he has been ‘surprised’ at how quickly the teen has adjusted to life in England, each on and off the pitch.
‘It amazes me how mature he’s for his age,’ the previous midfielder, who guided Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2012, said on Sky Sports.
‘I watched him within the FIFA Club World Cup when he played there for Palmeiras, but to expect him to return to England, a brand new country, latest language, latest environment, and begin off so well, that did surprise me a bit of bit.
‘But you meet him and he’s a extremely humble guy. He’s got an incredible family behind him, so he’s very settled in London, in Cobham.
‘He’s an exciting player. After I first watched him within the States I used to be like, “wow, this can be a special talent”. He’s slowly developing because let’s not forget, he’s still very, very young.
‘But he has so many skills and attributes and he’s only going to improve. He’s going to be a top, top player.’
Di Matteo was also very complimentary of Arsenal, but believes there’s a way through their impenetrable team: ‘In the mean time they give the impression of being unstoppable.
‘They’ve been very consistent, not only this season but probably the last two or three seasons, they usually’ve just develop into stronger and stronger.
‘They’re very solid now, their defensive organisation is sensible and that’s why they’ve conceded the smallest amount of goals within the Premier League. But they’ve such an attacking threat as well.
‘It’s very difficult to play against the Arsenal team because they press you very high, very hard, so that you don’t have much time on the ball. So, you’ve got to have the ability as an opposition to go past the primary press. If you happen to manage to do this then you definately might need a little bit of space because otherwise they simply suppress you.’
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