Chelsea is set to sign João Pedro from Brighton for a reported fee of £50 million plus £5 million in add-ons, as reported by Fabrizio Romano.
The 23-year-old is set to fly to the U.S. for his medical in time to be registered for the Club World Cup, with registration closing on July 3rd. Chelsea has already qualified for the quarter-finals.
Brighton reportedly rejected a £50 million bid from Newcastle in favor of Chelsea. Moreover, the Brazilian only wanted Chelsea if he was to leave Brighton. Recall that he joined Brighton from Watford for a club-record fee at the time. In fact, he has been one of Brighton’s most consistent players.
This season, in 27 Premier League appearances, he recorded a total of 10 goals and 6 assists—with half of his goals coming from the penalty spot. He also has a 100% penalty conversion rate, scoring all 5 of his spot-kicks.
Pedro officially becomes the third Brighton player to join Chelsea in recent years, after Marc Cucurella and Moisés Caicedo—and we all know Chelsea rarely misses when it comes to Brighton players. Even though they tend to show their best form in their second season, the trend has proven effective.
While not traditionally known as a striker, Pedro can play as a center forward. He is versatile and can be deployed anywhere across the front line—including left wing, right wing, or even as a No. 10—thereby boosting Chelsea’s attacking options alongside Nico Jackson, Cole Palmer, Liam Delap, Christopher Nkunku, Pedro Neto, Enzo Fernández, and many other talented attackers.
He is often described as a 9.5/10-type forward, similar to Joshua Zirkzee—yet still stylistically different. While his ability to play in multiple positions makes him highly versatile, it could also affect his positional stability and consistency. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old will hopefully not be a miss for Chelsea’s billion-dollar squad.
It's Joao Pedro Time
What do you think of this Chelsea fan?