Forget Tel & Garnacho: Chelsea can soon unleash "future Ballon d'Or winner"

If Chelsea are to secure Champions League football this season, manager Enzo Maresca will seemingly have to make do with what he already has at his disposal, following what was a rare quiet window for the Blues.

Aside from the last-gasp capture of teenage midfielder, Mathis Amougou, on a £10m deal from Saint Etienne, the west London side refrained from dipping into the market, having instead focused on overseeing a raft of late outgoings – namely Joao Felix’s loan switch to AC Milan.

Whether it was mere paper talk or not, the Stamford Bridge outfit had been tipped for big things heading into January, with rumours rife regarding a potential surprise swoop for Manchester United starlet, Kobbie Mainoo, in order to bolster their midfield ranks.

That came amid dual interest in Mainoo’s fellow academy sensation, Alejandro Garnacho, with the Red Devils having at one stage seemingly been open to cashing in on the 20-year-old, amid Chelsea’s advances.

A deal, in the end, did not come to fruition, although perhaps Todd Boehly and co were wise to save their millions…

Chelsea’s search for a new forward

Rewind to early January, and the speculation surrounding the addition of a new forward at the Bridge was growing, with The Athletic reporting on a potential swap deal involving Christopher Nkunku and Bayern Munich’s Mathys Tel.

Despite maintaining an interest in the teenage Frenchman throughout the window, the 19-year-old ultimately opted to seal a loan switch to rivals Tottenham Hotspur, despite having initially turned down Daniel Levy’s advances.

It will then be a curious watch to see if the former Rennes starlet – who is yet to score this season – will ignite at N17, with the Blues’ failure to strengthen the attack having perhaps backfired amid injury concerns surrounding striking duo, Nicolas Jackson and Marc Guiu.

Meanwhile, in the case of Garnacho, a potential £60m move was mooted – with Serie A side Napoli also circling – yet the Argentine ultimately remained at Old Trafford, with Ruben Amorim instead offloading Marcus Rashford and Antony from his already struggling forward line.

The signings of either Tel or Garnacho would no doubt have been met with real excitement in west London, yet it won’t be long before Maresca can unleash his own attacking sensation, who could even eclipse both…

Chelsea’s bigger star than Tel and Garnacho

Chelsea’s transfer business has been mixed to say the least of late, with summer signings such as Felix and Renato Veiga already packing their bags to head to Italy on loan, having found game time hard to come by in 2024/25.

That said, the Blues have somewhat quietly made major moves in the background in recent times, with the decision to look to the long-term, rather than pushing for short-term gains, seemingly set to pay off handsomely.

Gone are the days of splashing the cash on ageing signings like Raheem Sterling and Kalidou Koulibaly, the clear policy now is youth. As noted this week, Chelsea’s oldest player used this in the Premier League season is Tosin Adarabioyo, who is 27.

That youth-centric approach is no more evident than with regard to the previous addition of Brazilian sensation, Estevao Willian, with the 17-year-old set to make the move to England on 1 July later this year, after initially signing on a £29m deal back in May 2024.

That is a hefty sum for a teenage talent, but all the signs point to Chelsea having landed a superstar in the making, with the wing wizard lauded as a “future Ballon d’Or winner” by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Typically deployed on the right flank, cutting in on his favoured left foot, the rising star has already chalked up 27 goals and assists in just 50 first-team games for current side Palmeiras, with 49 of those appearances coming across 2024 and 2025.

Not only is Estevao outperforming his fellow youngsters this season (or in 2024-2025), as shown above, but he also compares favourably with regard to his total career tally. Tel, for instance, has just 23 goal involvements in 83 games for Bayern, while Garnacho boasts 38 goals and assists for United, but from 122 outings.

Of course, Estevao may be operating in his homeland, rather than a top five European league, yet it is difficult to doubt his sky-high potential. Let’s not forget that Real Madrid plucked a certain Vinicius Jr straight from Flamengo as a teenager back in 2017 – now he’s a Ballon d’Or runner-up.

As can be seen in the table above, the Palmeiras ace is operating at a level perhaps even beyond Tel and Garnacho, eclipsing the recent Blues targets in a number of key metrics last season, including goals, assists, big chances created and successful dribbles per game.

Having even been lauded as a “better prospect than Endrick” by Mattinson – with Estevao’s compatriot the latest hotly tipped Brazilian at Madrid – it certainly bodes well for those back at Stamford Bridge.

And so, while failing to fork out for Tel and Garnacho may be viewed as a disappointment among the Chelsea faithful, it is worth remembering that there is at least one superstar just waiting to be unleashed in the near future.

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