Chelsea already signed Palmeiras right winger Estevao Willian last summer on a 34 million euro transfer with an additional 23 million euros possible if he reaches certain benchmarks based on performance.
Formerly teammates with current Real Madrid sensation Endrick at Palmeiras, Willian, especially since the announcement of the signing, has looked like an even better prospect than his very accomplished ex-teammate.
Willian has scored banger after banger for Palmeiras, and he added another one in the Copa Libertadores on Wednesday night, striking the opening goal from range with absolute venom against Paraguayan top club Cerro Porteno.
You can view a highlight of the goal here, in which Willian picks up the ball in the middle of the pitch with some distance between himself and the penalty box, and then unleashes an absolute scorcher with his left foot.
Estevao Willian scores bangers with ease
The sheer ferocity of the strike is impressive, as is the movement, which has the ball perfectly nestling into the far right corner of the net after curving sharply away from the goalkeeper.
This goal has become something of a trademark for the 18-year-old winger. For someone so lithe and tricky with the ball at his feet, he shoots the ball as hard as Endrick, who is quite a bit bigger physically.
But that shows you the importance of technique. Willian’s ball-striking ability is almost superhuman. It is beyond words and logic, and if Willian can almost innately strike the ball like that at 18, imagine what he can do in five years for Chelsea.
The Blues have been mocked for their transfer strategy under Todd Boehly, but Willian has a chance to be the big gamble that strikes gold for Chelsea in more ways than even the expensive Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo signings have.
That’s because Willian is a difference-maker who can score from anywhere on the pitch as a winger. Chelsea desperately need someone who can strike the ball like that and offer this kind of goal threat.
Cole Palmer is a great secondary scoring option as an attacking midfielder, and he does have some range to him. But Willian has pure power and ball-striking venom that not even Palmer does, and Palmer also isn’t an out-an-out winger like Willian, who, by the way, had won five successful dribbles in the game at the time of the goal.
Chelsea need game-changers who can make goals out of routine plays and keep goalkeepers and defenses on their toes whenever they have the ball within 30 yards of the goal. Willian could be the answer to a few of Chelsea’s needs, but don’t overlook this one, too.
Joe Soriano covers Tottenham for FanSided’s Hotspur HQ and writes about Real Madrid for The Real Champs. He has extensive experience covering world football since 2014. Joe is an editor for The Trivela Effect, where he covers the biggest clubs in European football. He has watched professional sports regularly since 2002 and can be found playing the same sports he covers with his friends.