When Estevao Willian can make Chelsea debut after transfer confirmed with surprise 'loophole'

Estevao Willian is the latest player to agree to join Chelsea. The 17-year-old has become the second summer transfer confirmed since Enzo Maresca's arrival earlier this year.

As one of the most exciting young players in the world, Estevao will also join a host of other teenage talents at the club. Andrey Santos, Deivid Washington, Angelo Gabriel, and Kendry Paez were all signed as teenagers for significant outlays given their age.

In some circles, Estevao is already deemed to be a cut above, having broken into the Palmeiras senior side. He is impacting games for the first team in Brazil and is expected to become part of the Chelsea squad as soon as possible, unlike some of his peers.

Only Washington of the previous names stayed at the club after his transfer, developing in the academy and making minor substitute appearances. Santos was sent back on loan after his deal in January 2023 and then spent the first half of last season at Nottingham Forest before moving to RC Strasbourg mid-term with Angelo there from the start.

Paez, like Estevao, will not join Chelsea until he turns 18. He will spend the 2024/25 campaign at Palmeiras before moving to England, where the plan is for him to settle in as part of the furniture. Unlike those that have been sent elsewhere to get first-team minutes, Paez and Estevao are different cases.

They are expected - although it is still very early and 12 months away - to go into the senior setup immediately. It will leave their progress to be monitored and analysed heavily in the coming season.

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But when could they actually be in action for Chelsea? Well, domestically, it will be August 2025. That is when the Premier League season of 2025/26 will begin, so a debut in that competition is still a way off.

However, due to the FIFA Club World Cup next summer, there is a chance that they could be seen earlier. The newly revamped tournament will be held between June 15 and July 13 next year. With 32 teams taking their place in the competition, Chelsea, via winning the Champions League in 2021, is being dealt with seriously by the club.

In fact, part of Chelsea's willingness to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino was because they did not want to risk entering his final 12 months contracted and being in a position whereby he is sacked in the same summer as the Club World Cup. It has been described as a 'double season' due to the tournament linking 2024/25 and 2025/26.

This opens up the chance to get a look at Estevao before even pre-season, which will come as a mixture of the Club World Cup and presumably a tour to follow. Seeing Estevao before July is unlikely, though, as players tend to move after June 30, when contracts end.

This therefore provides Chelsea with somewhat of a loophole to get their newest signing into the team earlier than expected. In order for him to have a role, though, Chelsea would likely have to get through the group stage and enter July still in contention. Whether or not the club would also be willing to use him shortly after his official arrival is another question.

In theory, though, the Estevao competitive debut could come at least six (or so) weeks before if Chelsea weren't in the competition.