Former Arsenal star Julio Baptista has congratulated Chelsea on signing Estevao Willian.
The teenager completed a medical earlier this week and is on the verge of being confirmed as a Chelsea player in a deal initially worth £29.5 million.
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Nicknamed ‘Little Messi,’ the Palmeiras forward will become the most expensive transfer involving a South American teenager in history if Chelsea ends up paying the full £51 million fee.
Chelsea’s transfer strategy, led by Todd Boehly and other key decision-makers, has focused significantly on recruiting young talent from South America.
The club has already secured the signings of Andrey Santos, Deivid Washington, Angelo, and Kendry Paez, but Baptista believes Willian will be the crown jewel among them.
‘Estevao Willian is an incredible talent coming out of Brazil but I don’t like him being compared to a player like Lionel Messi,’ he told Oddspedia.
‘The talent coming out of Brazil is incredible but the expectation can weigh on them a little bit.
‘But he can become an incredible player and is a great signing for Chelsea.’
This summer’s Copa America has come too soon for Willian, but his soon to be former Palmeiras teammate Ednrick, who has signed for Real Madrid, will be hoping to make a major impact.
‘If he plays then Endrick could be a star at Copa America, but I think that Vinicius Junior will do more for the Brazilian team,’ added Baptista.
‘You can also look at Rodrygo, but I think Vinicius needs to do more for the national team. Hopefully now he can show his potential and his talent.
‘Endrick has an incredible future but we need to be patient with him because he is under a lot of pressure and expectation because of what he has done so far.
‘Real Madrid need to be patient with him, like they were with Vinicius Junior. There is so much young talent coming out of Brazil but that does lead to comparisons.
‘He can become an incredible player and be like Ronaldo but he has to make his own career. But he is an incredible acquisition for Real Madrid because he is already an incredible player.’
