Chelsea return to action on Saturday night, with the fourth straight London Derby starting their Premier League season, facing West London rival Brentford.
If Enzo Maresca’s side has won three straight games, they’ll have to do so without Cole Palmer.
The Blues’ talisman exacerbated a gro caliber injury during a warm-up before the match against West Ham, retreating from that match at the very end, and was then caught up in a victory at Fulham, similar to the two World Cup qualifiers in England.
Therefore, Palmer is very unlikely to feature at GTECH Community Stadium, so the Chelsea attack superstar array is the best way to fill his void, and who can possibly poised for making his club’s debut?
Alejandro Garnacho: Decoming of Chelsea debut?
Two weeks ago, in a transaction that had been anticipated for months, Alejandro Garnacho finally completed his £40 million move from Manchester United to Chelsea.
Argentine International was told to find a new club by Reuben Amorim before last season. This spent the summer as part of Man United’s infamous bomb team before making a final decision by slowing down the switch to Stamford Bridge in the final days of the window.
However, it is still unclear how ready the 21-year-old is.
He didn’t feature at all for Manchester United during the preseason. I didn’t even train with the main group players. This means he is either competitive in the end or otherwise 115 days.
Garnacho spent two weeks at Cobham as he was not called to Argentina, but it certainly isn’t likely that he’ll be put in from the start at Brentford on a Saturday night.
Chelsea youngsters were destined to reach Palmer’s level
In the summer of many signatures, Chelsea paying £29 million for Estevan Willian could prove to be a window bargain, even if the contract reaches £52 million if all add-ons are triggered.
Over the summer, supporters entertained what came when the teenagers scored this stunning equalizer for Palmeira against their future employers in the quarterfinals of the Club World Cup in Philadelphia.
Since swapping Sao Paulo for Stamford Bridge, Estevan was able to quickly establish himself as a key figure on Maresca’s side, scoring during his preseason acquisition with Bayer Levalksen, starting his final two Premier League fixtures.
The table below highlights his importance, with an obvious warning that it is a small sample size.
Stephen 2025/26 PL Statistics | ||
|---|---|---|
statistics | Stephen | Chelsea Rank |
Min | 180 | 9th |
Expected goals | 1 | Third |
Expected assist | 0.9 | Second |
shot | 3 | Fourth |
Target shot | 2 | Second |
Shot creation action | 5 | Fourth |
Goal Creation Action | 2 | First |
A big opportunity has been created | 1 | Third |
I missed a big opportunity | 1 | First |
Successful dribbling around 90 | 2.7 | First |
Progressive Carry | 7 | Second |
I’ll bring it to the area | 6 | First |
Touch the area | 13 | First |
via fbref.com and sofascore | ||
As the table has documented, Estevan has certainly contributed to Chelsea’s shirt so far, despite having yet to register goals or assists in his burgeoning Premier League career.
Looking at the statistics from last season, Palmer was out on his own due to the majority of attacking metrics, but all his teammates were exempt, while Estevan shows early signs that he can match the British.
Football talent scout Jacek Kulig is certainly impressed, with Neymar, the best record-breaking goalscorer in Brazil, who believes that “big talent” is “surged in Brazilian football” and claims that he “I think he’ll become a genius.”
The 18-year-old has also been compared to another Brazilian superstar, with teammate Joan Pedro screaming “He’ll play for Brazil and Chelsea in the Ohio My God” before predicting that “he’s going to be like Vinicius Jr.”.
So, if Palmer isn’t there, this could be Estevan’s team for at least a few weeks. And if he bagged his first goal in the blue this weekend at Brentford, no one would be surprised.
