Chelsea Q&A: Title expectations, Enzo Maresca's future and who could be next Estevao?

With Chelsea sitting second in the Premier League and comfortably beating Barcelona in the Champions League, can they now be considered genuine contenders in each competition?

Perhaps more importantly, do those within the club believe they can go all the way?

Enzo Maresca has overseen the most stable, successful and promising tenure since the Todd Boehly-led consortium came to power in 2022, and there's every chance that could've led to greater expectations moving forward.

Sky Sports News' Chief Correspondent Kaveh Solhekol answers the key questions on the views from inside Chelsea ahead of a potentially season-defining clash with Arsenal, and also answers exactly why wonderkid Estevao chose Stamford Bridge over several other European giants.

Was Chelsea's win against Barcelona a sign they can compete for the Premier League and Champions League?

Chelsea have zero expectations of winning the title this season. They believe that Arsenal and Manchester City are the favourites to win the title.

They are building a squad for the next five to ten years, not just this season.

Nobody at Chelsea is going to get carried away after beating Barcelona. The title is not viewed as a realistic target for this season. It suits Chelsea that nobody has tipped them to win the Premier League title or the Champions League this season.

That gives them more time and space to build for the future. They don't want to be Estevao FC or Cole Palmer FC; they want to have a squad with six or seven players as good as Estevao and Palmer.

Their title credentials are going to be tested against Arsenal on Sunday. It will be a major statement of intent if they win at Stamford Bridge but even if they cut the gap to Arsenal to three points, they would need to go on some incredible runs to win the title for the first time since 2017.

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Arsenal deserve to be title favourites and home defeats by Brighton and Sunderland this season have shown that Chelsea are not the finished article yet.

It is a similar story in Europe. Chelsea are building a squad to win the European Cup but success this season would be ahead of schedule. They see themselves as one of about 10 elite teams who could potentially win the competition because anything can happen in knockout football.

Last season, Paris Saint-Germain lost three times and finished 15th in the group before going on to win the final in Munich. Chelsea may have looked like genuine contenders against Barcelona, but they looked far from it when they lost 3-1 in Munich in September.

What are the owners' expectations this season, and have they been raised by recent results?

Last season's target for Maresca was to get Chelsea into the Champions League and back challenging for trophies. After some ups and downs, he delivered a fourth-place finish and both the Conference League and Club World Cup.

Chelsea are expected to build on that this season and a realistic target is to finish in the top four again - perhaps just behind Arsenal and City.

Anything can happen in cup competitions and improvements are expected to be seen across the club.

They have ambitious - but realistic - owners who demand success. Nobody is going to be satisfied until they win the title and European Cup again. That is not expected to be this season, but it can't always just be a long-term target. The target is to make Chelsea one of the absolute best clubs in the world within the next 5-10 years.

How much pressure has Maresca been under at Chelsea - from the owners and the fans?

Maresca is regarded as having done a masterful job this season rotating his squad and managing the players after the Club World Cup in the summer. He has made 102 changes this season, carefully managing his players' workload.

Head coaches will not be just judged on trophies - even though Maresca won two last season - but also on the work they are doing developing and improving players, and building a team and winning culture.

Maresca has gotten used to Chelsea fans not totally taking him to their hearts yet.

Maybe that has got something to do with following in the footsteps of Mauricio Pochettino after the end of the 2023/24 season. Maybe it has something to do with the style of play that has been a change in direction from the way Chelsea sides used to play.

His style led to some tension between Maresca and the fans at the start of the year but his wild celebration after Estevao's late winner against Liverpool in October marked a turning point in the relationship.

Maresca has some way to go before he is loved like some of his predecessors, but he is definitely on the right track and his success in the Club World Cup and the exceptional job he is doing should not be underestimated.

Estevao stole the show vs Barca - why did he choose to join Chelsea?

An integral part of Chelsea's recruitment policy is to buy the best young players in the world before they become superstars. Those players are signed on long-term, heavily incentivised contracts with low base wages.

Estevao chose to join Chelsea because he believed in what the club was building. He wanted to play in the Premier League and live in London and he knew he would get opportunities to play. Chelsea had been scouting him for three years and they chose to sign him instead of Endrick.

Selling Noni Madueke to Arsenal in the summer also meant he would have more opportunities to play. Estevao is seen as a player who can play anywhere across the front line, including as a false nine.

Clubs such as Real Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona were watching Estevao closely but it was Chelsea who wanted him most. They were willing to pay Palmeiras an initial £29 million and they agreed that he could stay at the Brazilian club until this past summer.

Who are the next Estevaos in the pipeline and who is responsible for finding and signing them?

Chelsea's football leadership team has been totally overhauled since the new American owners arrived in 2022. They now have a team of five sporting directors and one their most important jobs is making sure Chelsea stay one step ahead of their rivals when it comes to buying the stars of tomorrow.

18-year-old Sporting Lisbon winger Geovany Quenda is joining in the summer after Chelsea signed him in a deal worth up to £40m in March.

Two 17-year-olds - Kairat Almaty forward Dastan Satpaev and Corinthians left back Denner - are also due in London at the same time, along with Strasbourg striker Emanuel Emegha.

16-year-old Ecuadorian centre back Deinner Ordonez is moving from Independiente del Valle in January 2028.

(c) Sky Sports 2025: Chelsea Q&A: Title expectations, Enzo Maresca's future and who could be next Estevao?