JOAO PEDRO has been the best forward signed by any Premier League club this summer – according to the stats, at least.
But the Chelsea striker isn’t getting the plaudits he deserves.
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Joao Pedro was man of the match against Crystal PalaceCredit: PA
He scored for the second Prem game in a row after also bagging vs BrentfordCredit: Reuters
If you ask most Premier League fans, they’d probably tell you Liverpool star Hugo Ekitike has been the best of an, albeit underwhelming, bunch.
Pedro has been criticised for his inconsistency in front of goal, and has often been labelled as another ‘9.5’ type of forward, in the same mould as Chelsea flops Christopher Nkunku and Joao Felix.
He’s been rotated by Enzo Maresca and now Liam Rosenior with Liam Delap, who was bought more as a ‘proper’ No9 in the summer.
His form of late, though, is making it harder and harder to give Delap Premier League minutes up front, despite Cole Palmer‘s fitness issues.
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Liam Delap, in fairness, isn’t putting up much of a fight to start.
The Blues’ actual No9 curse seems to be being dragged through the mud by the ‘number nine curse’ at Stamford Bridge.
A goal and penalty win saw Pedro walk away with the man of the match award against Crystal Palace, though it was Estevao who got most of the credit from fans.
He scored a clinical goal in the 2-0 win over Brentford, too, and is quietly building up a bit of steam for the Blues.
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Nick Woltemade has been impressive for Newcastle, but doesn’t match up to Chelsea’s Brazilian in terms of numbers, who has bagged eight goals and three assists.
Ekitike, 23, has eight goals and two assists.
In terms of value, it has to be said that Pedro has performed pretty well for the Blues at £60m from Brighton, whereas Ekitike cost LFC £9m more.
Not that he matches up to the value given to Leeds United by free transfer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has nine goals and one assist, having cost them nothing but wages.
Premier League striker signings ranked in terms of their goals/assists this season
Calvert-Lewin is the league’s fourth-highest scorer, behind Man City’s Erling Haaland, Brentford‘s Igor Thiago, and Antoine Semenyo.
As for the likes of Alexander Isak, Benjamin Sesko, Liam Delap and Viktor Gyokeres, the less said about them so far, the better.
Calvert-Lewin has been the best of the bunch when it comes to valueCredit: Alamy
Ekitike has been an excellent signing for Liverpool tooCredit: AFP
For Pedro, Chelsea’s favourable run of Premier League fixtures may provide an opportunity for him to establish himself as the number nine Chelsea have needed since Diego Costa left the club in January 2018.
The Blues face West Ham, Wolves, Leeds, and Burnley in their next four games.
