New Chelsea signing Essugo on Caicedo comparisons and wanting to reach the very top under Maresca | OneFootball

New Chelsea signing Dario Essugo says he is honoured by the comparisons to new team-mate Moises Caicedo.

Born in 2005 in Odivelas, just outside Lisbon, Essugo played for Sporting Lisbon as a child and during his first years as a professional. He made club history with the Portuguese side in March 2021 by debuting for the first team at just 16 years and six days old, becoming their youngest-ever player.

A few months later, he went on to break another milestone, eclipsing Luís Figo’s record as their youngest-ever starter (16 years, 11 months, 17 days). More recently, he has spent time out on loan, playing last season at Spanish side Las Palmas.

His style of play has also drawn comparisons to Caicedo: “Of course it is good when they compare you with a very big player but it is a mix of both because I want to try to have my way, to achieve the top,” he said.

The midfielder made his debut in Chelsea‘s first Club World Cup game against LAFC, playing six minutes from the bench. “I feel good,” he said. “It was a different experience that I used to get normally. But I felt very good and proud to start with Chelsea. The environment and my team-mates help me a lot. The coach, everything here is very good.”

Essugo has generated huge excitement in Portugal for his talent and the age at which he debuted, and he spoke about the feeling of making his first appearance for a club as historic as Sporting at such a young age.

“It was an amazing feeling,” he said. “I was the youngest player to debut in the first team in Sporting and it was an amazing feeling. At this time it was Covid and I wasn’t playing anything because the Champions League had stopped. I made one training session with the first team and the coach Ruben Amorim liked what he saw and called me to play.”

Despite his obvious talent, Essugo was competing against some of the best defensive midfielders in the world in that Sporting team, but saw it as a good chance to learn and improve his game. “Ugarte, Palhinha and Hjulmand (were in the squad),” he said. “They are three big players. I had the opportunity to learn with them and of course this for me was a big opportunity.”

It was now Manchester United boss Amorim who initially gave Essugo his debut, and first start, and the 20-year-old spoke glowingly about the impact the now he had on his career.

“He brought me to the first team so he helped me a lot, to understand the game, to reach the level I am at now,” he said. “I am grateful. He is so demanding. He is a demanding person. He likes to win every time so he has helped me a lot.”

Now at Chelsea, who signed him for £18.5 million on a deal until 2033, Essugo is ready to make an impact in his first season for the Blues. He will face tough competition in the squad with Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Caicedo sharing the bulk of minutes in midfield currently, but with his career trajectory so far, there is no reason he cannot disrupt that.