Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca heading towards major Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer problem

The wealth of attacking talent in Chelsea’s squad is set to become even more abundant next summer when Enzo Maresca welcomes two full-blooded wonderkids to Stamford Bridge.

An expensively-assembled group of established senior players are already in a tough fight for minutes out wide and in attacking midfield. That scrap will become harder still when Brazilian starlet Estevao Willian and Ecuadorian prodigy Kendry Paez join up with the Blues’ squad at the end of this season.

By that point, both players will be 18 and ready to make the jump to the Premier League. And the immense excitement surrounding both of them, as well as the level they have shown in South America, means they will not accept feeding off scraps of game time like most other teenagers in the English top flight.

Estevao has notched 16 goal contributions in 22 league games for Brazilian outfit Palmeiras this year. Neymar called him a ‘genius’, and his transfer could reach an eye-watering £51million if add-ons are triggered to bump up the original £29m fee.

Maresca is already excited about his arrival, and he said this week: “We are following him. He is doing fantastic – but unfortunately he is doing fantastic there and not with us. We are very happy in the way he is doing these things.”

Estevao excels at cutting onto his favoured left foot from the right flank, which will put him in direct competition with incumbent right-winger Noni Madueke once he lands at Chelsea.

The problem for Maresca is that Madueke will be difficult to overlook if he maintains his impressive form, and he could block Estevao’s route into the starting XI. Furthermore, the newly-capped England international is just one of the many wide options Maresca can call on.

Jadon Sancho, Mykhaylo Mudryk and Pedro Neto can also play on either flank, forcing Maresca to wrestle with a tricky balancing act even before Estevao has entered the equation.

In a similar vein, Chelsea talisman Cole Palmer will be to Paez what Madueke is to Estevao. Paez has been a well-known figure since breaking into Independiente del Valle’s senior side at the age of 15.

The attack-minded midfielder was scoring goals for Ecuador’s first team at 16, and his star continues to rise as he moves towards his 18th birthday. But based on the past 12 months, creative spark Palmer will be even more difficult to displace than wide man Madueke.

That’s not to mention the presence of Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku – two big-name European stars who can also make a big impact at No 10.

It’s clear that Chelsea’s ranks will be bolstered by the arrivals of Estevao and Paez, but the prominence of Madueke and Palmer – not to mention those already looking to oust them – means Maresca will have a problem accommodating the teenagers. And that may only be solved by selling underperformers before Chelsea’s two new young guns arrive.