Ancelotti confirms Brazil will keep monitoring Estevao despite limited Chelsea minutes

Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti said Estevao’s limited playing time at Chelsea would not stop the national team from monitoring him and giving him opportunities to develop, adding that Brazil would continue to follow him as long as he was considered useful to the team.

He explained that regular playing time is better for players’ development, but noted that fewer minutes mean they arrive with the national team feeling more rested, which may help them perform well. He spoke ahead of two Brazil friendlies in Asia, amid difficulties for some of the national team’s young players in securing starting roles at their clubs.

Estevao started in Chelsea’s win over Manchester United, then was left out of the starting lineup in the team’s defeat to Sunderland last week. Ancelotti believes the national team’s objectives differ from Chelsea’s, and that the club’s decisions about its players will not determine whether Brazil continues to monitor the 19-year-old.