Estevao Willian made his first start of the Premier League season over the weekend as Chelsea went on to beat Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Estevao has been overlooked by Xabi Alonso during this campaign, but there was room to start him against United following Joao Pedro’s injury. In a 4-2-3-1 set-up, Pedro Neto played up front, which meant Cole Palmer was moved into the position behind the striker.

Alonso was very positive about Estevao after the full-time whistle, but when everyone is fit, how can the Spaniard get him into the team? There is no doubt that that is what Chelsea fans want to see.

Well, first, Alonso will have to ditch his 3-4-2-1 formation, which he has done lately. The Chelsea manager is going to have to continue with the 4-2-3-1 set-up we have seen in recent weeks. In that line-up, Alonso can obviously get four attackers into the team.

However, once Pedro returns, Alonso will have a bit of a conundrum. Against United, Estevao, Palmer, Neto and Morgan Rogers all started in attack. One of those names will have to be dropped to get Pedro back into the side.

Neto has been one of Chelsea’s best players this season, but to keep Estevao in the team and reintegrate Pedro when he returns from injury, the Portuguese is the forward who will have to be dropped.

All in all, Estevao has too much talent to be left on the bench. It has been reported that Estevao has not been impressing Alonso in training, but if that can be addressed, there should be nothing stopping the Brazil international from being a regular starter.

The bonus of including Estevao in the side is you get a winger who can beat full-backs one-v-one. That is not to say Neto cannot do that, but his teammate does it much better. For example, Estevao completed 3.09 successful dribbles per 90 minutes last season, according to FotMob. Neto only completed 1.60 and is averaging even fewer this term, 1.45.

Neto does not have to be dropped permanently. There are games where his work rate could benefit Chelsea more than Estevao’s flair, so the 26-year-old will still have his use even if he is not playing week in, week out. But at home and against low blocks, supporters will want to see Estevao.