Chelsea FC have procured reinforcements in the final third, as their 2025 FIFA Club World Cup knockout round campaign continues. Brighton & Hove Albion striker Joao Pedro, according to multiple reports, is moving over on a deal worth a total of £60 million ($82m).
The Brazilian will have his Chelsea medical in the next couple of days, and sign a seven year deal, according to a report in ESPN.
The £60m figure consists of 55 million up front, and 5 million
Chelsea take on Palmeiras in the Club World Cup quarterfinal on Friday night in Philadelphia. It remains to be seen whether or not Pedro can be signed, sealed, delivered and registered in time for that clash, but the 23-year-old, whose previous stops prior to Brighton include Watford and Fluminese, should be available for the Blues’ semifinal round match, provided they advance that far.
Joao Pedro will become the Blues’ second signing in the attacking third this summer, behind Liam Delap. And up next could be Jamie Gittens of Borussia Dortmund, who has already departed BVB’s CWC camp, to reportedly work on finalizing his potential switch to Chelsea.
These moves will make the position group more overcrowded than it is already is, and thus the competition for playing time even more cutthroat.
Christopher Nkunku has long been speculated to exit, and the Joao Pedro addition only ramps up the pressure to get that deal done.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter