“He’s already done mad things in training” - Jamie Gittens impressed by ‘great’ Chelsea teammate

New Chelsea signing Jamie Gittens has heaped praise on teenager Estevao Willian after his unofficial debut against Bayer Leverkusen. The Englishman claimed that the display at Stamford Bridge was only a fraction of what the Brazilian has been doing in training all week.

Chelsea returned to action on Friday, August 8, in their first pre-season match against Bayern Leverkusen. Estevao Willlian was on the scoresheet just 19 minutes into his first game at Stamford Bridge, and the fans were full of praise for the teenager.

Gittens, who also made his unofficial debut on Friday, spoke to HaytersTV and spoke highly about his new teammate. He said (via TheChelseaChronicle):

"It was amazing. You've seen the Joga Bonito. He's a great player with so much skill and so many attributes, so it was good to see him play and score. We see it in training every day. He's been here for a week, and he's already done mad things in training, so to see it today was just one part of him doing it every day in training."

Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was on Channel 5 and heaped praise on Estevao Willian. He said (via TheChelseaChronicle)

"He's had a great start. He's going to be one of the supporters' favourites. How he touches the ball, how direct he is, his passes. He plays with a lot of guts. Here he is in the right spot and the right place (for his goal), and it looks like a simple tap-in. But he takes it really well with the inside of his foot. He's a great prospect…"

"What I like about him as well, he does a lot without the ball. When Chelsea have the ball, he runs in spaces without the ball. Not a lot of wide players do that anymore. He attacks with the ball. He's had a lot of touches. They are looking for him. Him and [Cole] Palmer are playing together. They are looking for each other and trying to get some kind of connection. And it's working."

João Pedro was another new signing who made his unofficial debut at Stamford Bridge along with Liam Delap, Dário Essugo, Jorrel Hato, and Andrey Santos. The former Brighton & Hove Albion forward scored in the final minutes of the game to seal a 2-0 win for Enzo Maresca's side.

Chelsea have shortened their pre-season after the FIFA Club World Cup

Chelsea participated in the FIFA Club World Cup earlier this summer and thus had to cut short their pre-season, which usually starts in early July. They won the tournament in the United States in early July, and therefore gave the players the rest of the month off as summer break.

Maresca's players returned to training on Monday, August 4, and had their first pre-season match on Friday against Bayer Leverkusen. They have one more game against AC Milan on Sunday, August 10, before starting the Premier League season against Crystal Palace on Sunday, August 17.

The Blues are set to be without star defender Levi Colwill for the rest of 2025 after he suffered an ACL injury this week. He has undergone surgery, and the recovery period for ACL is six to nine months.