Barcelona and Liverpool are both monitoring Estevao Willian and see a possible route to a deal in 2027, according to a report from Turkish journalist Ekrem Konur cited by Sports Illustrated on 15 September. Chelsea, the report adds, have set the Brazilian’s price at €110-120m to warn off suitors.
Barcelona’s interest is said to be led by sporting director Deco, who has begun exploring a move as first reported by Spanish outlet El Nacional and picked up by Sports Illustrated on 14 September. Liverpool’s scouts are described as similarly taken with the 19-year-old’s one-on-one dribbling.
None of it has been confirmed by any of the three clubs.
One year in, and the calls are already coming
Estevao only completed his move to west London in the summer of 2025, in a deal Chelsea themselves announced could rise to £56m with add-ons after arriving from Palmeiras. Chelsea handed him a contract running until June 2033 and the number 41 shirt.
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His first Premier League campaign carried the weight of enormous hype, but was cut short by a hamstring injury and finished with four goal contributions across 22 appearances.
Playing time under Alonso
The current season has been quieter still. Xabi Alonso, who took over on 1 July 2026 on a four-year deal, has largely kept Estevao on the bench in the opening weeks, with Cole Palmer and summer signing Morgan Rogers ahead of him in the pecking order. That squeeze on minutes is what has caught the eye of clubs abroad.
Chelsea, for their part, do not appear to be shifting. Fabrizio Romano reported on 12 September that the club remains “calm” about the situation and could open talks over an improved contract rather than entertain a sale. Alonso is said to view the teenager as an important part of the season.
Willian, the former Chelsea forward and Brazil international, has publicly backed his young compatriot.
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“Estevao is a different kind of player. He has great quality and a commanding presence,” Willian told beIN Sports on 5 September.
“He certainly has everything it takes to be a key figure.”
Why 2027 is the earliest realistic date
The 2027 timing in the report is not accidental. Chelsea have no financial pressure to sell, the player has six seasons left on his contract, and Barcelona and Liverpool are both said to be planning further out rather than making a January move. A summer 2027 bid, following another 12 months of playing time and price signals, is a far more plausible window than an immediate approach.
For Barcelona, the pursuit fits a well-worn pattern of chasing young South American forwards. For Liverpool, whose sporting department was linked to the same player earlier in the year as a potential Mohamed Salah successor, the interest is more about squad-planning than immediate replacement.
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The next test of Estevao’s standing will come with Chelsea’s fixtures over the autumn, when Alonso’s rotation and any injuries to Palmer or Rogers could hand the Brazilian the run of minutes he has so far been denied.
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