How Brazilian Wonderkids Are Taking Over The Premier League

World Cup wins, Samba stars, street football, futsal and joga bonito

When you think of Brazil, these are the things that come to mind. At least for us at 442

They do things a little differently in South America. Barefoot ballers and beachside battle royales have helped produce the most entertaining players across several generations

From Garincha and Pelé's era, to Zico, Socrates, Carlos Alberto, Ronaldinho, Ronaldo, Rivaldo, Romário, Neymar, all the way up to present day

Nowadays though, it's English football that's king. So is it any wonder every Brazilian youngster wants to play here in the Premier League

This year, two of the Selicão's best young talents have burst onto the scene in dreary old blighty

I'm Joe Donoghue and welcome back to the Boys A Bit Special, a 4-4-2 series highlighting the best and brightest teenagers in world football

Bournemouth's Antoine Semenio replacement could hardly have hoped for a better start on the south coast

Ryan is the 19-year-old pot-shotter from Vasco da Gama in Brazil's top flight

who recently equalled a Robbie Keane and Anthony Martial Premier League record

That is to say, the attacker contributed a goal or assist in each of his first three outings

becoming only the third teenager to do so in Premier League history. That's probably a good indicator of how special Ryan could prove to be

Ryan is the son of former defender Valkmar, who, despite sounding like an intercontinental ballistic missile used during the Cold War

actually played for Vasco da Gama during their late 1990s peak, when the team won the Copa Libertadores and Brazilian Championship

But Valkyrie's greatest contribution to the world of football could end up being his own flesh and blood

By the age of 11, it was reported that Ryan had scored 280 goals for Vasco's youth teams

He and his father were interviewed about it back in 2017. Yes, you heard that correctly

Premier League stars were as young as 11 as recently as 2017. It was in that interview Ryan admitted he enjoys celebrating like Luis Fabiano

a real streets-won't-forget footballer. But not only that, Ryan listed his inspirations

who were none other than Nene. yep, that guy who briefly appeared for West Ham

and Cristiano Ronaldo At 19 years old Ryan already has more Premier League goals than one of his idols We let you work out which one we talking about there He got a cannon of a left foot and so far has been stuck out on the right flank but dating back to his time as a youth

football and futsal star, Ryan has always preferred playing through the middle as the centre forward

And with his goals record, can you really blame him? A move to the Premier League at such a young

age is significant for a couple of reasons, not least because Ryan will be setting his family up

for life. In an interview, his father Valkyma admitted he took a job as a security

guard after retiring from the game because he hadn't earned enough during his playing days

Ryan's move is significant for a second reason, because it shows how Bournemouth

and the Premier League's other so-called lesser teams are now regarded by some of the world's best and brightest young

talents. The Cherries have sold Ilya Zabani to PSG, Dean Hoisin to Real Madrid, Milos Kerkhez to Liverpool

and Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City in the past eight months, and Dom

Solanke to Spurs before that. The Vitality Stadium offers a platform for young players to come and

thrive under less pressure than they may be faced with at a traditional big six club. And the more

agents and players cotton on to this, the more it stands to benefit teams like Bournemouth

raising the competitive level of the league even further. Now, Bournemouth fans, if you're watching

close your ears right about now because what I'm about to tell you probably isn't what you want to

hear. Ryan won't be at Bournemouth forever. He mightn't even be there very long depending on how

quickly he develops. But you probably knew that already. When he was 15, scoring more goals than

games played for Vasco's under-17 team, Barcelona sporting director Deco took a very close look

So the fact that Bournemouth have landed him is most likely on the proviso that he'll be allowed

to treat the club as a stepping stone. That's the footballing food chain, I'm afraid. Ryan is headed

right to the very top, with thanks to his father. He's got all the ability in the world, but how

often do we see talented youngsters fall by the wayside because they lose their focus? Check out

this quote from Valkmar. He told Globo Esport the following. Today I'm happy with what I have

what I earn is enough for me to live on. It's very important because we don't let Ryan go overboard

If he sold for those absurd prices that football fetches young players these days we can manage to control his nights out his drinking his relationships with women Today I know how to do it and talk to him so we don go too far The goal is for him to pursue a high career until he retires Then with a family

at a good age, he can move on with his life. Today we work day by day, year by year, so

he can achieve his goal. Me, his mother and his older sister support him

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Estevão made his Palmeiras debut at the age of 16 years and eight months

Half a year later, he was sold to Chelsea. When Premier League clubs spot a talent like him, they move fast. Very fast

The Brasileiro, Brazil's top flight, has seen many wondrous young players come through

before being shipped off to Europe for huge fees. Vinicius Junior, Rodrigo, Renier and Endric, all of whom ended up at Real Madrid

are just some of the recent examples, with varying success. Going further back and you have the likes of Neymar, Ronaldo, Caca and Romario

although they weren't signed by European teams as early as this new generation are

The reason for that is partly due to the shrinking of the football world

Today, teams from across Europe have dedicated scouts based in countries such as Brazil, Argentina and Ecuador

attending youth-level matches. And that's why Esteval was a known quantity long before he stepped onto the field to make his Palmeiras debut

And as a young winger in the Palmeiras Academy, he earned the nickname Messinho, meaning little Messi

expressing his desire to one day represent Barcelona. Kids, eh? Well, this kid actually has the talent to achieve that one day

Earlier this season, Chelsea defeated Barcelona 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, thanks in no small part to Esteval

While it might have always been his dream to play and score at Camp Nou, he at least managed to find the net against Barcelona in that game, which he was fantastic in by the way

He created chances, beat men on the dribble and scored. Everything a teenage Brazilian winger taking his first steps on the big stage should do

Estevao hit double figures in each of his two full seasons with the Palmeiras first team before joining Chelsea once he turned 18 as per Brexit rules Thanks again for that So it would have been unrealistic for anyone to expect him to waltz into the Chelsea team and replicate that

But he just might, you know. You never really know how a player like Esteve out, coming straight from South America

where there can sometimes be less focus on tactical discipline and more on individual ability

is going to adapt to English football. He's done more than alright though. And I wonder how much of that is down to the homework he put in before arriving on these shores

Esteveu had been taking English lessons for 18 months leading up to his Chelsea unveiling

which no doubt has eased his transition into London living. Does anyone know if Palmeiras supporters reacted to Esteveu the same way as Liverpool fans did

when they found out Trent Alexander-Arnold spoke conversational Spanish? No? In an exclusive interview with 442, Esteveu admitted he still needed the help of a translator app

to understand what Cole Palmer had DM'd him on Instagram. The reason for that being, Esteveu had just performed the Chelsea man's signature celebration

No, I'm not going to do it. Shortly after his signing from Palmeiras was announced

We've been hounded in the comments throughout this season, asking us to please feature Esteveu in one of our boys a bit special videos

And now I'm glad to say 4 for 2 are satisfied. In truth, he was all along one of the best young players in world football

But we didn't want to have another Michailo Mudrik situation on our hands

Estevez will, in our opinion, go from strength to strength at Stamford Bridge

and genuinely could become one of the world's best, on a level similar to Lamin Yamal

He does have a slight petulant streak in him at the moment, but that's to be expected

Not many of us were level-headed teenagers. There have also been games in which he's not quite suited

but appearing over 30 times for the Blues in his debut campaign is as strong a sign as any

that he's got what it takes, and then some. Remember to subscribe to 442 for more Boys A Bit Special

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and recommend us to a friend too particularly if they're interested in football's next generation

or cool anecdotes about up and coming players or even if they're woeful at football manager

and really need a hand in the scouting department Until next time, bye for now