For a club once accused of lacking a cohesive plan and signing players merely for the sake of it, Chelsea is using Estêvão to prove they may well know what they’re doing.
On Tuesday night, Estêvão stole the limelight from another teenage superstar—Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal—further highlighting why Chelsea was willing to sell Madueke to Arsenal, who will visit Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
This deal is perhaps the best example yet of the Chelsea model working perfectly, showing the club can make significant progress through player trading and shrewd business moves.
Of course, Palmer will still be Chelsea’s star player upon his return from injury, but Estêvão has become the face of a project that has sparked much controversy and ridicule over the past three years.
Admittedly, the process hasn’t been smooth—for instance, Mudryk, signed for £62 million, hasn’t played for the club in a year, which is a stark reminder. But Estêvão’s rise is undoubtedly the latest and best proof that Chelsea is on the right track.
Madueke’s impressive start to the season at Arsenal led Chelsea’s critics to revisit old arguments, questioning the club’s recruitment and strategy. However, no one is now questioning the decision to let him leave and hand the reins to the 18-year-old Estêvão.
Chelsea knew a superstar was coming last summer; they had signed Estêvão the previous year for an initial £29 million, rising to a potential £50 million, and allowed him to stay at Palmeiras for another year.
This clear and crucial path is what helped Chelsea win the race to sign Estêvão. He would continue to get regular game time at Palmeiras, compete in a major tournament—the Club World Cup—and then join Chelsea’s first team directly without needing a loan spell in Europe.
At the Club World Cup, Estêvão even faced Chelsea with Palmeiras, scoring a goal in that match while Madueke came off the bench for the Blues.
For Chelsea, the only question was how to ensure Estêvão got game time matching his exceptional talent. Just days after that Palmeiras vs. Chelsea match in the US, the answer emerged: Chelsea agreed to sell Madueke to Arsenal for a fee rising to £58 million.
Chelsea not only made a substantial profit on Madueke—they signed him from PSV Eindhoven for around £30 million—but also paid less for Estêvão than Arsenal did for the England international.
The 23-year-old Madueke is a talented winger whose value could rise in the coming years. But CIES Football Observatory has already valued Estêvão at over £100 million, and the thought of his potential worth in the next few years is staggering—though Chelsea has no plans to cash in anytime soon.
Last season, Madueke was Chelsea’s third-highest scorer with 11 goals in all competitions, despite having been at the club for just two and a half years. Yet the club’s owners and sporting director refused to be bound by tradition.
Keeping Madueke would undoubtedly have hindered Estêvão’s development and pressured any manager—in this case, Maresca—to stick with a proven Premier League lineup.
Instead, Maresca was given the chance to blood Estêvão, and the club’s trust in him and encouragement to make an immediate impact set a clear example—one he has certainly lived up to.
Estêvão joined Chelsea on a relatively modest salary compared to his teammates, but he will undoubtedly be rewarded quickly for his rapid progress. This season, he has scored 5 goals for the club, finding the net in every competition he has played in, and is on track to surpass Madueke’s total from last season.
Chelsea fans can look forward to seeing Estêvão link up regularly with the returning Palmer, and it’s not hard to imagine the club having two players with a combined transfer fee of less than £100 million who could one day contend for the Ballon d’Or.
When Madueke returns to Stamford Bridge on Sunday, there will be no regrets from Chelsea’s side, as Estêvão sets his sights on new prey.
