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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca (Picture: Getty) Former Chelsea midfielder Steve Sidwell believes that Alejandro Garnacho has the ability to become ‘one of the best in Europe’. After falling out of favour at Manchester United, Garnacho was sold to Chelsea over the summer in a £40million move. The Argentine has made an understated start to his life at Stamford Bridge, scoring once in his first five Premier League appearances. As of yet, the 21-year-old has yet to make himself a nailed-on starter in Enzo Maresca’s line-up so far this season, and found himself on the bench for the midweek Champions League clash with Qarabag. However, brought on at half-time with Chelsea trailing, Garnacho delivered a timely reminder of his qualities with a well-taken finish to secure a point for the Blues in Azerbaijan. And Sidwell believes that Garnacho can become one of the best talents in Europe if the winger can prove to be a more reliable threat for the Blues moving forward. ‘Superb from Garnacho. This is what Chelsea fans want to see from him, making an impact in the final third,’ Sidwell told TNT Sports after Garnacho’s goal. Alejandro Garnacho got on the scoresheet against Qarabag (Picture: Getty) ‘He’s certainly got the quality. It’s a super strike. ‘Chelsea fans are crying out to see the real Garnacho because he has got some talent. We’ve seen it there, and we need to see it more in a Chelsea shirt. ‘When he’s in form, he’s one of the best in Europe, that’s for sure.’ Garnacho has been told he can be one of Europe’s best (Picture: Getty) While Garnacho’s goal secured a point for his side, it was the man-of-the-match performance of Estevao that caught the eye on Wednesday night. The Brazilian teenager has seen his minutes and starts managed by Maresca since his arrival in the summer, but showed his quality yet again with a superb finish to open the scoring. Pedro Neto has been the first-choice right winger in the league so far under Maresca, but Sidwell believes that Estevao deserves to start over his Portuguese teammate on current form. Estevao also caught the eye in midweek (Picture: Getty) ‘We speak about this player week in, week out,’ he added. ‘He deserves to be in the starting line-up. Straight away, makes an impact. He’s always an outlet and he’s got quality to boot as well. He’s been superb. ‘Absolutely superb at such a young age, just got so much quality. He’s a joy to watch when he gets in and around the box, he’s always trying to make things happen, doesn’t really go for the safe option. ‘At such a young age, wisdom beyond his years.’ Fellow Chelsea player Joe Cole was equally impressed with the 18-year-old, saying: ‘Top player. What he does really well is he goes straight at you, direct. He’s moving it, shifting it. ‘He came on against Liverpool, the Premier League champions, and lit the game up. He’s an outstanding footballer. ‘Talk about settling in. That last-minute winner against Liverpool, the whole staff and team-mates raced to him and that tells you he’s settled in with the group of lads, and that’s really important when you’ve come from another country.’ Chelsea return to action on Saturday as they look to make it back-to-back league wins against bottom-of-the-table Wolves. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
