'We don't care': Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca makes Estevao point ahead of Club World Cup showdown | OneFootball

The Club World Cup is the Brazilian’s final assignment before joining Chelsea

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Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca insists his side are not solely focused on Estevao Willian ahead of the Club World Cup quarter-final showdown against Palmeiras.

The game could see Chelsea come up against the teenage Brazilian forward, who is due to join them after the tournament as a deal for an initial £29m fee that could rise above £50m with add-ons was first agreed last year.

As a result, the Club World Cup is the highly-rated 18-year-old’s final assignment with Palmeiras.

So far in the tournament, Estevao delivered man-of-the-match displays against Porto and Al Ahly, impressed against Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami as Abel Ferreira’s side finished top of Group A on goal difference.

A clear threat to Chelsea’s chance of reaching the semi-final, although Maresca is keen to not make the tie all about Estevao.

Maresca said: "When we prepare for games, we prepare thinking about the team, not the players that are on the other side, and we have done exactly the same in this game.

"We prepare for the game against Palmeiras, not against Estevao. In this moment he is a Palmeiras player.

"We don't care if in the future he will be with us when this competition is finished. The only thing we are focused on is doing our best to try to beat Palmeiras."

Estevao Willian has impressed at the Club World Cup

Getty Images

If selected to play, the youngster will be tasked with trying to put his excitement at officially joining Chelsea to one side.

"It's really hard [to focus]," Estevao told TNT Sports Brazil last week before the quarter-final tie was confirmed. "[Going to Chelsea] is a dream coming true but knowing that I need to focus here first. It's not easy.

"You have to maintain your focus here. And the closer it gets, the anxiety starts to hit, the butterflies in the stomach start to hit.

"But I'm trying to focus as much as possible here, to leave everything I can on the pitch, to leave here well, with my head held high, through the front door, knowing that I did my best here."