Chelsea look to have pulled off a major transfer coup and successfully hijacked Manchester United’s bid for Spanish winger, Pedro. Reports from Spain and England appear to confirm that Chelsea have met the Barcelona stars’ £21.2m buyout clause with a medical planned for this week.
Chelsea to sign Spanish star Pedro
Pedro, who has been a wanted man all summer, is keen to leave the Camp Nou after seeing his first team opportunities limited in recent seasons. The arrival of Alexis Sanchez and latterly Brazilian superstar, Neymar, have meant that the former Barcelona youth team graduate is now open to the prospect of moving abroad to further his career.
Chelsea meanwhile are under pressure having just one point from their first two Premier League matches. A 3-0 thumping by Manchester City last Sunday, seemingly convincing Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, to grant Jose Mourinho his wish to hire some reinforcements.
There is likely to be a starting berth for Pedro on the right hand side of Chelsea’s midfield. With Cesc Fabregas having been exposed against Manchester City, there is every chance that Oscar may drop deeper in midfield alongside Nemanja Matic, with Willian moving to play in the number 10 role.
The Barca forward was thought to be on the verge of moving to Chelsea’s title rivals Manchester United, with reports surfacing on Monday that he had agreed personal terms. Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman had flown to Barcelona earlier this week to look to complete the deal. This is not the first time Woodward to entered into negotiations with Barcelona only to come away empty handed. His pursuit of Cesc Fabregas in 2013, also ended up fruitless.
Having won 15 major trophies at the Catalan giants, Pedro will be joining Chelsea as they look at arrest the pre-season form that has seen many pundits re-evaluate their predictions of Chelsea as title winners. This signing will lift the mood of supporters, who in the wake of poor form and the debacle of the demotion of Physio, Jon Fearne and Doctor, Eva Carniero, have been handed a rough start to the season.
The result of Pedro’s moving to West London could spell the end for Juan Cuadrado. The Columbian only joined the Blues from Fiorentina in January for £23.3m, but has been unable to muster anything like the form he showed in Italy or for his national side in the previous summer’s World Cup in Brazil. The signing of Pedro follows that of Baba Rahmen, the former Ausberg full back having signed this week and has been announced as wearing the number 17 shirt.
The deal is expected to be formally announced by the time Chelsea play West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League this weekend, with Pedro in London having a medical.
