Former Premier League manager Alan Pardew has praised Chelsea’s signing of Brazilian forward Joao Pedro.
Pardew’s former team, Newcastle United, were also in the race to sign Pedro, but it was the Blues who managed to secure the player’s signature.
Pedro has had two decent seasons in front of goal for Brighton, but has somehow managed to fly under the radar.
In the recently concluded Premier League season, Pedro managed to score 10 goals in 27 appearances, helping the Seagulls to a top-8 finish.
The Brazilian has a fan in the form of Pardew, and the former Newcastle manager lauded Chelsea for snapping up a player of Pedro’s calibre.
This, despite Pardew being quite critical of Enzo Maresca and his style of play in the past.
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What Pardew said about Chelsea signing Joao Pedro from Brighton and Hove Albion
Speaking about Pedro’s move to Chelsea on talkSPORT, Pardew said, “This fee does look excessive, but obviously Newcastle wanted him, he’s established, he can play through the middle, he can play off the side, he gives you great variation, so I think he’s a great player. It’s a big fee, but I think he can justify that fee.”
Like Pardew said, Pedro is a versatile player who can play in a number of different positions, and his versatility could help him justify the huge price tag that he will carry on his shoulders as a Chelsea player.
Given Pedro’s versatility, it will be interesting to see how he fits into Maresca’s system and how the Italian manager chooses to use him in his squad.
