Enzo Maresca has confirmed Estevao Willian is in contention to make his first start for Chelsea against West Ham United, and has discussed Andrey Santos’ role in the Blues squad this season.
We make the short trip across London tomorrow for an 8pm kick-off at the London Stadium, and will be looking to claim our first win of the 2025/26 campaign following a 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in our season opener.
One of the highlights of that first top-flight fixture was the debut of Estevao Willian, who impressed off the bench with his direct running and quick feet down our right flank.
And ahead of our meeting with West Ham, Maresca was asked if the Brazilian could be used from the start against the Hammers, with the wide pitch at the London Stadium potentially suiting a tricky winger like the 18-year-old.
‘He is doing well since he arrived with us, even in the training sessions,’ responded Maresca during his pre-match press conference. ‘But for me, he needs a path. He is very young, so we have to be careful.
‘He can be an option for tomorrow from the start, for sure after his Palace performance, but we will also look at today’s training session, and then we will decide.’
Another Brazilian who has impressed Maresca is Andrey Santos, who returned from a season-long loan at Strasbourg to help the Blues win this summer’s Club World Cup.
The versatile midfielder appeared four times at that tournament before joining Estevao Willian in making his Premier League debut for Chelsea from the bench against Palace.
‘I’m very happy with Andrey and very happy with Andrey staying here with us,’ continued Maresca. ‘He can play in Enzo’s [Fernandez] position for sure, he can play in Moi’s [Caicedo] position for sure.
‘He played one game from the start in the Club World Cup against Palmeiras, when he was very good as a No.6. So the good thing is that he can play in both positions very good.’
The Blues head coach also pointed out that, although the task of competing for a place in the line-up with Fernandez and Caicedo might appear daunting, another busy campaign ahead means every member of the squad will get their chance.
‘I try to approach always in the same way, which is that the day-by-day session decides who is going to play. For sure, with games every few days, you need to rotate.
‘Last year in the Conference League, especially in the beginning, we used to change 10 or 11 players every game. That is something you cannot do this season in the Champions League.
‘But in any case, we need to change players because they cannot play 60 games. So the moment that they drop a bit, we have players behind them that need to be ready to play games.’