You would have to say that either Morgan Rogers or Joao Pedro has been Chelsea’s best player this season.

Rogers scored again over the weekend to help Chelsea beat Manchester United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League. That was his fifth goal in the English top flight.

Before his injury, Joao Pedro was also on fire and was already on five goals for the season. The Blues will miss him when they travel to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland this week.

As well as the two attackers, Pedro Neto has also played well this term. You would probably put him just behind Rogers and Pedro.

Pedro Neto is at risk of being dropped for Estevao Willian

For as good as Neto has been, though, it may not be long before he is dropped as pressure for Xabi Alonso to start Estevao Willian mounts. Alonso finally caved in on Saturday, starting the Brazilian in the Premier League for the first time this season.

He has been using a 4-3-2-1 formation lately, meaning that four attacking players are all able to start. And with Pedro still injured, there is now room for Estevao in the line-up.

However, Pedro is expected to return after the international break, and he will walk straight back into the starting XI. What would that mean for Neto and Estevao? Rogers and Cole Palmer are also automatic starters, so one of the two will have to drop down to the bench.

Estevao has supporters on his side and even the media to a certain extent as they continue to ask Alonso about his lack of game time this term. As the season goes on and Alonso comes to terms with how often he has to set up his team to face a low block, the 44-year-old may start to prefer Estevao.

Looking at some of their stats this season, Estevao has created more when he has been on the pitch. According to FotMob, Estevao is creating 2.01 chances and also completing 2.01 successful crosses per 90 minutes.

In contrast, Neto is only creating 1.58 chances and completing 0.79 crosses per 90. Last term, when Estevao was getting more playing opportunities, he was also completing 3.09 dribbles per 90, giving him a percentile rank of 94.7%. It means the Brazilian outperformed 94% of players in his position in the Premier League. That is quite something for a teenager who was playing his first season in England and away from his homeland.

Of course, there are some advantages from starting Neto over Estevao. Defensively, you do get more out of the former.

The £54m Portugal international is currently making 7.51 defensive actions per 90, while Estevao is making 6.04. But at home and against teams that are going to sit deep and be compact, Chelsea fans will not really care about that.

Neto has been one of Chelsea’s top performers this term, scoring three goals and providing one assist in nine league outings. But it is Estevao time!